I was recently asked to give a list of who I consider the “Top The Seven Schlemiels of the Year” for Queen Mob’s Teahouse’s “Review of 2015.” Should you be interested, here it is: Top Seven Schlemiels of 2015 Larry David has for several years been the most celebrated and recognized schlemiel in visual culture. […]
There are (and have been) countless television shows which make it obvious to the viewer that a character – in this or that situation – has done something awkward. Think, for instance, of Parks and Recreation, Workaholics, Curb Your Enthusiasm, or The Office. Saturday Night Live makes it a staple, and just about every Judd Apatow […]
Critics like A.O. Scott and Josh Eells are frustrated when it comes to Hollywood. They feel that the possibility of adulthood – which they equate with progress – is stifled by countless films that encourage “perpetual adolescence.” Scott, at the end of his essay “The Death of Adulthood in American Culture,” tells that “to get […]
Ok. Its good to know what someone is doing, but when is too much…too much? And what happens when what he or she is saying is not particularly that insightful? When it comes to the schlemiel, there is a limit. Every good writer knows that. Overkill doesn’t do the schlemiel well. This is what I […]
Now and then we all like a little mischief. Growing up, I always associated this with breaking the law. If mischief was going on, it was behind people’s backs. And if it was going on, I never imagined it was something that Jews did. It wasn’t – as professor Daniel Boyarin notes in speaking about […]
Schlemiel Theory 