An Israeli television show about an ultra-orthodox Jewish family may seem like an unusual television phenomenon, but such an unexpected combination of plot elements suddenly became a hit for everyone.
What is the series about?
A young man rides a bus with his bearded father, both in black hats with brim and long black cloaks traditional for ultra-Orthodox Jews. The boy, about to study the Talmud and Torah in the yeshiva, makes his first trip from their isolated community to the city. He is clearly fascinated by the sights, especially the open legs of women and a nursing mother.
“You know, Kiv, when I was your age, and your grandfather took me to the city, he did it to help me, ” my father says. “He took off his glasses and put them on me. Thus, he could not see well, and I could not either. Let's try to do the same? ”
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The Israeli television show Shtisel talks about the famous Haredi family living in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish district of Jerusalem. And this is a wonderful plot foundation for including in the series scenes like the one above, as well as characters struggling with the limitations of their culture, as well as showing intense love breaks between a bachelor-son and a twice-widowed middle-aged woman or a struggle for survival, faced by his sister, abandoned by her husband with five children. This is an unexpected combination: a high-color soap opera with notes of humor about an ultra-orthodox family in a culturally specific combination of Hebrew and Yiddish. And this is a real hit.
Best Israeli TV Series
Shtisel has gained popularity in the country of origin, where some ultra-Orthodox Jews, who usually do not watch television or do not have their own television, have reportedly admitted that they watched it on the Internet. A theme song from the series screen saver became popular at haredi weddings. Billboards for him appeared everywhere, memes spread throughout Israel, and dialogue from the show became catchy phrases. Over time, the show attracted international attention. In December 2018, it began to be broadcast worldwide on Netflix with subtitles in English and other languages.
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The show was so successful that the creators of the series are now mulling over the third season. Meanwhile, one of the creators of Friends Martha Kaufman and her daughter Hannah K.S. Kanter is adapting the American version of this wonderful television series for Amazon Studios, and the script for this adaptation has recently been completed.
Reasons for success
According to Jessica Steinberg, cultural observer for The Times of Israel, Israeli viewers reacted so well to Stisel precisely because of the small island population that stands out for its distinctive appearance and enormous influence on national politics.
“The series shows the objective side of our society - a society that we are familiar with, but which it is customary not to speak critically and with irony, ” says Steinberg. “I think the show is so popular because it's about relationships and romance, showrunners they depicted it a little differently, not like usual, but the relationship on the screen still looks nice and interesting. ”
And in a country where the synagogue and the state are not divided, ultra-orthodox legislators are responsible for important decisions, which makes their life interesting for the population. In fact, Shtisel is part of a broader trend in Israeli television for portraying ultra-orthodox characters. “Maybe the population has a lot of resentment against the ultra-orthodox community, which can be very reserved and dismissive of secular Israelis, ” says Steinberg. - So, suddenly you have a live television show about this community, and it is attractive, and it sounds believable. It has all these small details that seem so correct and explain this world - the world of orthodox Jews - which people would like to understand better. ”
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Artistic features
Shtisel stands out among his ultra-orthodox television "colleagues." Like many other world hits, this series draws inspiration from the golden age of television plays like the legendary Soprano Clan. The show shows a great deal of attention to detail, portraying characters praying for food or touching mezuzah and kissing each other's hands before passing through a doorway, for example. Symbolism and memories, such as in the scene of a guy riding a bus with his father, play a big role in the whole story.
Characters
Kive, that is, Akiva, the youngest and now an adult member of the Shtisel family, struggling with his ambivalence towards the strict customs of the religious community in which he lives.
Also one of the main characters is Akiva's sister, Giti, recently abandoned by her husband, she leaves her youngest children in the care of her teenage daughter, Ruki, when she needs to go to work. After a particularly difficult day with the baby, Rucami admits that she reassured him by giving him her own chest. The combination of such family dramas and unexpected scenes with excellent storytelling and high production standards helped the first series, which aired in Israel in 2013, to win the national version of the Emmy Award, receiving 11 awards from the Israeli Film Academy.
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Success abroad
The success of the series outside of Israel stems, at least in part, from its universal themes, especially its romantic longing. While scriptwriters of romantic comedies are struggling to come up with new obstacles for central storytelling couples, the Haredi community, in which the series Shtisel takes place, provides them with ready-made, believable and very life-threatening obstacles. As Allison Kaplan Sommer, who writes about the series in the Israeli edition of Haaretz, notes: “This summer, a truly gentle, sensitive, exciting romantic series about Israel tells about what is really happening outside of modern life - in the religious community where strict rules still prevail: where you can’t fall in love and marry only for love, where the search for true personal happiness is still often a risky and bold act. ”
Further fate
Now this show has come to other countries. The US-based Facebook discussion group called “Shtisel - Let's Talk About It” has gained over 10, 000 members since its inception in January. Washington Jewish Week announced February the state’s “Shtisel- mania "among American Jews." What is truly true in the series is that its plot lines and acting are so fascinating that it is almost easy to forget about the bling and wigs of the characters, ”Sela Maya Siegelboim writes.“ This is probably because this the story is not about how n rsonazhi struggling with their religion. This story actually tells us about love, loss and other universal topics that are relevant in all times and among all the people."
Now the question is whether the world needs an American adaptation of this series, which has already become a hit.
