Time for Jewish representation in period dramas! Thanks to Kanye West and his blatant anti-semitism, the internet seems ready to talk about the issues facing the Jewish people. As a historical costumer, I want to know : When are we getting good Jewish representation in movies and historical shows? I don't mean Jewish stereotypes, antisemitic dogwhistles, Holocaust misinformation, or non Jewish actors in Jew-face. I want costume dramas that actually show Jewish history and Judaism, because Jews have been a part of history for nearly as long as history has existed. And no, sorry, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel doesn't make up for every other show that's got Jewish people wrong, and it has its problems too!

Studying fashion history while Jewish can be really upsetting, because I'm running into antisemitism all the time. It can suck all the fun out of dress history, to only see the most traumatic moments in Jewish history shown! Historical movies and historical shows aren't helping by refusing to include Jews or accurate Jewish history. Jewish representation in TV is fraught with problems, and historical dramas are no better. Blatant anti-semitism has become rarer in these shows, but antisemitic dog-whistles like in Red Joan are still an issue. So are Jewish characters whose Judaism is invisible, like in Downton Abbey. Too many Jews in period dramas are only around for one episode, which will never make up for the lack of Jewish main characters. WWII dramas may be willing to show Jewish history, but it's always the most upsetting period in Jewish history and the Jews never get to be the heroes of their own stories. And even in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and many other shows that center on historical Jews, it's rare that Jewish actors are cast. Sometimes non-Jewish actors will even wear fake noses to play Jews, a practice called Jew-Face. And too many shows forget Jews exist entirely, pretending to historical accuracy when it's actually innacurate to exclude Jews from the settings of many popular period dramas.

Let's use Kanye West's antisemitism to wake us up to all the ways that antisemitism is a real problem, including in historical costuming and in the shows and movies we love. Jews and Judaism, just like all other marginalized peoples, deserve better representation that we're getting.

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