Thursday, March 10, 2011

Criticism Of The Maccabeats And "The Purim Song"

In case you arrived at this post looking for me to critique the heck out of the video, I'm sorry to disappoint you. Rather, I'm going to address something else: the new form of revolting critical comments that people are posting on Jewish blogs (such as mine and Sterngrad's) as well as on Youtube regarding the Maccabeats and their new music video.

This is rant, so be prepared.

There is nothing inherently wrong in the way that Sterngrad wrote that there are elements in "The Purim Song" which don't quite live up to "Candlelight," such as the song choice, repeated imagery, etc. That's having a keen eye and writing honestly about what parts of the content shown in the video didn't quite work for her as a viewer. I can respect a difference of opinions like this post.

Then there are guys who like to mouth off unintelligibly, like "The Prof" and "Burnt Dreadlocks" who remark that the video or the Maccabeats are "gay," then elaborate on their opinions. Another commenter on Youtube "Lothiras" goes on long diatribes defending why he is justified in derogatorily referring to the video and the members of the Maccabeats as "gay."

None of them are in any way doing anything other than shoving both feet further and further down their own throats.

Burnt Dreadlocks wrote in defense of his claim that the Elvis curl worn by Buri Rosenberg in the video is gay by writing "Still, only a certain type of person can mutilate themselves in such a way." "Mutilate?" Someone who decides to split their tongue, insert pieces of metal under the layers of their facial skin, or otherwise surgically and irreparably remove or alter a portion of their anatomy - now that is "mutilation." Clearly, "as a native californian" he is simply overtly homophobic, reads into things, and can't keep his comments to himself.

"The Prof" who also clamored on about Buri's Elvis curl saying "Little things like that drive me nuts!" and then after I wrote that it fits the costume, "I just find the whole thing quite gay. The fountainheads did a much better job." Lastly, when I asked for clarification if he was using "gay" as a slur or literally, he replied "I mean it quite literally. I know that they obviously arent, its just the way they are singing. " Um, why?

Aside from the fact that these two commenters write things that make me suspicious they are one person, the whole discussion is ridiculous and offensive to anyone, homosexual or heterosexual - basically, anyone with a brain who can think.

What about the video seems "gay?" I don't see anything stereotypical, or anything not stereotypically homosexual about what is shown in the video whatsoever. You can say that you liked the Fountainhead version better, that's totally your opinion. But to go on and on about the fact that the Maccabeats are somehow "gay" with no legitimate cause (or at all for that matter) is beyond stupid.

The fact that the members of the Maccabeats have appealing physical features and good voices - that makes them gay? The fact that they sing as a group somewhat reminiscent of boy bands from the late 90's like N' Sync or the Backstreet Boys makes them gay? The fact that they generally depict only men (with the exception of a few little girls in this video) make them gay? Does hanging around at a Purim Seudah with little kids make them gay - is that insinuating that they molest small children?

Or are you upset because the Maccabeats are trying to be as far reaching as possible in their video's appeal to all sectors of observant Judaism and don't depict women dancing or singing? Not to critique the religious observance of The Fountainheads or their video, but are you more interested in their version because it shows women who sing, dance, and wear pants? I don't believe they had an irreligious agenda with their video - they did it for fun just as the Maccabeats have and geared their video toward a different crowd. But because the Maccabeats don't appeal to your heterosexual drive by not featuring attractive women doing things that might make you excited, you decide they're "gay?"

Utterly ridiculous.

It's particularly troublesome to see that at least some of the people making these comments are seemingly learned, religious people and yet, don't "get it." Just because the larger portion of Maccabeat fans are girls because they admittedly find them handsome and enjoy their voices, and that doesn't appeal to you - you decide to pull out your unsurprisingly limited supply of derogatory and insulting comments?

True, there were plenty of comments coming from both men and women - all irreligious or gentile (most infamously Gaby Dunn)- when Candlelight was released that suggested the Maccabeats "spice" up their videos with "hot" women or by making the Maccabeats themselves appear "sexier" to the female perspective. I can't blame those people for making these comments - they enjoyed the video for what it was, but also have a standard in their mind for what defines successful musical artists and their music videos: sex appeal.

The Maccabeats clearly have no desire to be just another group in the pritzus-filled society that surrounds and envelopes us everywhere in the world nowadays. To that, I say kol hakavod! Who needs seductive images that stimulate the sex drive when you have catchy vocal performances, beautifully cinematic visuals, and doses of engaging humor thrown in for good measure? The success of the Maccabeats has nothing to do with these baser elements that the vast majority of secular artists out there (I won't say all, since I'm no expert in current pop-music) use to achieve their fame and make their money?

The Maccabeats aren't out there for fame and fortune. As they say on their website and repeated in various forms during the multitude of interviews they gave during "Candlelight's" rise to fame, their motivation is to entertain and educate, spreading positive messages about Judaism because they are "Strongly committed to the philosophy of Torah u-Madda, the integration of traditional and secular wisdom..."

I am so very proud of what my fellow YU students and alumni have accomplished. As I wrote about in my post summing up my thoughts on the success of "Candlelight," I think all the publicity is deserved and wonderful. This is the type of news and media attention that Orthodox Jews need, and we are all truly blessed by the beautiful response by so many people out there who watch these videos, Jew and gentile alike.

My message to all the guys - and they are almost all guys - who remark how "gay" the Maccabeats and "The Purim Song" is, start thinking with your brains and not some other part of your anatomy.

Enjoy the music for what it is, listen to the overt positive messages the Maccabeats and Uri Westrich are trying to convey, and if you have nothing nice or constructive to say, please shut up.

10 comments:

  1. Very good. I especially agree with " But because the Maccabeats don't appeal to your heterosexual drive by not featuring attractive women doing things that might make you excited, you decide they're "gay?" " That might be the major point here - that their videos focus on only men, and men who are clearly comfortable singing, dancing, and enjoying themselves together. I think that there is stigma attached to that in the secular world in general. Most secular guys don't enjoy hanging out exclusively with other guys. It's all a matter of perspective.

    You may be the Maccabeats' biggest fan. Or maybe you are secretly one of them...? :)

    Either way, as a girl with lots of religious female friends, I know that the Maccabeats are generally very well-loved amongst the frum female population. I also once encountered a frum man who puts his children to sleep by playing them the Candlelight video. So in my community, don't worry, nobody thinks anything but very highly of them.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well said...
    Youtube comments (and the like) are what they dregs of society write because they think they have something useful to say... I think they should be disabled... or at least, monitored...

    ReplyDelete
  3. My only critic, is that I am truly sick of Jewish bands sampling other music and kvetching their own lyrics into it. How about writing their own melodies? I know, I know, they aren't a professional band like others, but still, I have been seeing this trend.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for the mention. I just posted my response on my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Girl123 - ASoG sometimes says I'm their #1 fan, but truth is I am friends with a number of them.

    Rachelli - I agree!

    Holy Hyrax - that is a legit beef. Though I do believe that there is a difference between, say, what Shlock Rock and The Maccabeats have done versus MBD's "Yidden" and a number of Lev Tahor songs.

    ReplyDelete
  6. My subjective opinion, because I like civil argument, is that they look nerdy. That's one of my only two critiques. I'm not saying they are nerds. They may be quite cool. But how they are doing what they are doing makes them look nerdy to me (particularly the scenes of singing into the camera with the hudson river in the background).

    My second critique is, for g-ds sake man!, button that top button and snug-up that necktie! What's with all these frum men who forgot how to wear a tie and look like they just came home from an 18 hour day at the law firm preparing for a class action suit against the tobacco companies?!

    ReplyDelete
  7. SOG, you strike me as a logical person, so forgive me when I say that I perceive an angry tone coming from your response that only detracts from whatever message you want to deliver. So much so, that it may be clouding your judgment.

    I am going to play devil’s advocate with your response, quoting little snippets of yours, and then responding. This comment will be broken in two because it is too long for single submission.

    SOG: “Clearly, "as a native californian" [Burnt dreadlocks (BD)] is simply overtly homophobic, reads into things, and can't keep his comments to himself.”

    You make a deductive leap here and I think the leap calling BD overtly homophobic based on his comment is attenuated at best. Further, the purpose of blogs and commenting ability on blogs is the free transfer of information and opinion. I believe that one has the ability of disabling the commenting ability on one’s blog. Therefore, as much as BD’s comment is unappealing to you, keeping comments to himself removes a vital purpose of blogs, and viewed in the aggregate, can lead to a blog’s collapse. (If there is a blog on the internet that no one reads, does it still exist?)

    SOG: “Aside from the fact that [The Prof and BD] write things that make me suspicious they are one person, the whole discussion is ridiculous and offensive to anyone, homosexual or heterosexual - basically, anyone with a brain who can think.”

    It is disputable whether this comment is ridiculous and offensive to any homosexual or heterosexual person. I gather, though, that at least you take offense. To add, “anyone with a brain who can think,” detracts from your argument via misdirection- it takes attention off of legitimate ideas and transfers it to banal banter.

    SOG: “What about the video seems "gay?" I don't see anything stereotypical, or anything not stereotypically homosexual about what is shown in the video whatsoever. You can say that you liked the Fountainhead version better, that's totally your opinion. But to go on and on about the fact that the Maccabeats are somehow "gay" with no legitimate cause (or at all for that matter) is beyond stupid.”

    As far as I read, no commenter went “on and on” about the maccabeats being gay. I found the comments pithy. It also strikes me as funny that the commenters at issue are entitled to their opinion that the Fountainhead version is better (“that's totally your opinion”), but not entitled to their other opinion that how the Maccabeats sound or appear strikes them as feminine.

    SOG: “The fact that the members of the Maccabeats have appealing physical features and good voices - that makes them gay?”

    Highly debatable. I believe I detect some bias.

    SOG: “The fact that they sing as a group somewhat reminiscent of boy bands from the late 90's like N' Sync or the Backstreet Boys makes them gay?”

    Ahh, it makes me happy that Marky Mark disappeared and is instead appearing in funny movies like The Other Guys. Sorry, I had to say that.

    SOG: “Does hanging around at a Purim Seudah with little kids make them gay - is that insinuating that they molest small children?”

    Wow. I think that leap, which no commenter made, is extreme. The other comments in the paragraph from which the above quote came get the same treatment from me. People think less clearly when angry. I’m just saying…

    SOG: “Utterly ridiculous.”

    This is a matter of opinion.

    SOG: “Just because the larger portion of Maccabeat fans are girls because they admittedly find them handsome and enjoy their voices, and that doesn't appeal to you - you decide to pull out your unsurprisingly limited supply of derogatory and insulting comments?”

    I would bet they are not limited to the comments they made. And it is debatable whether the term “gay” is derogatory.

    ReplyDelete
  8. In response to Lawschooldrunk's las argument about if the term "gay" is derogatory, as a lesbian jew i feel the need to weigh in. in the context of using "gay" to insult a video, or anything, it is terribly insulting. the comment was used, not to refer to someone attracted to the same sex, but as something generally bad. this means that the use of "gay" in this sittuation is giving the word gay a negative connotation.

    ReplyDelete
  9. [Continuation from last my comment]

    SOG: “The Maccabeats clearly have no desire to be just another group in the pritzus-filled society that surrounds and envelopes us everywhere in the world nowadays. To that, I say kol hakavod! Who needs seductive images that stimulate the sex drive when you have catchy vocal performances, beautifully cinematic visuals, and doses of engaging humor thrown in for good measure? The success of the Maccabeats has nothing to do with these baser elements that the vast majority of secular artists out there (I won't say all, since I'm no expert in current pop-music) use to achieve their fame and make their money?”

    I think BD and The Prof are not saying all you said they are saying, above. They merely note that they think there is something feminine about the video.

    As an aside, BD stated he/she used the term gay literally. Actually, gay means homosexual, which means being attracted to members of the same sex. I think BD was getting at the prevalent tendency that gay men exhibit some feminine manners or characteristics.

    SOG: “I am so very proud of what my fellow YU students and alumni have accomplished. As I wrote about in my post summing up my thoughts on the success of "Candlelight," I think all the publicity is deserved and wonderful. This is the type of news and media attention that Orthodox Jews need, and we are all truly blessed by the beautiful response by so many people out there who watch these videos, Jew and gentile alike.”

    I think it is important to note, for the sake of argument, that some people believe that any attention to Orthodox Jews is not good and that Orthodox Jews should remain “under the radar” until meshiach arrives. Further, some people say that the youtube video at issue is another example of Jews conforming to contemporary gentile ways, as opposed to, for example, the Jews in Egypt during the time of Moshe Rabainu not conforming to the Egyptians in dress or language. I neither agree or disagree with this perspective at this time; I raise the idea for general enlightenment.

    SOG: “My message to all the guys - and they are almost all guys - who remark how "gay" the Maccabeats and "The Purim Song" is, start thinking with your brains and not some other part of your anatomy.”

    Yet another leap of how your commenters think that may be baseless.

    SOG: “Enjoy the music for what it is, listen to the overt positive messages the Maccabeats and Uri Westrich are trying to convey, and if you have nothing nice or constructive to say, please shut up.”

    I have heard that if one has nothing nice to say, then do not say it. However, here, what BD or The Prof said was not necessarily not nice. I’ll leave the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution aside and say that as long as communication is angerless, civil, proper, reasonable, pick your qualifier, it should be stated, to continue making these blogs a pleasure to read and a source of lively and purposive discussion.

    And it’s nicer to say be quiet…

    ReplyDelete
  10. lawschooldrunk - yes, I am a logical person, and yes this was fueled (partially) by anger. I did call this a RANT, which is generally not entirely self-restrained, and as you can tell, anger did leak through, though it did not cloud any major judgement on my part. If something doesn't sound entirely nice, it wasn't meant to be, I'm not debating with a rational thesis why their comments were wrong to convince anyone, it's pretty self evident and I'm calling attention to that.

    Your nit-picky reply is exactly that, nit-picky, as though you were reading what I wrote and read problems into what wasn't really there. I'm not against commenting, but comments such as "that's gay" add nothing whatsoever to any discussion other than offend people and start debates like this. I don't think calling BD homophobic is a leap, his comments indicate that.

    I do think writing more than 2 messages describing how/why the Maccabeats and their video as "gay" and explaining these remarks as "going on and on."

    Maccabeat's physical attractiveness and voices being "highly debatable" - ask your average Modern Orthodox girl aged 13-20s or their mothers, or many gentile women who have seen and commented on the videos. What bias would I have in mentioning this? Bias AGAINST Fountainhead?

    The term "gay" was used in a derogatory fashion, regardless of intended meaning.

    Additionally, the post was in reponse to ALL of the people out there writing things like this, such as the plethora of youtube comments, which make remarks like BD's and Prof's plus more. I didn't want to go citing every single youtube comments, but there are those that mention having the little kids there as "gay," and question where there are no women there - and that "somehow" implies the Maccabeats are gay.

    So far, NO ONE has yet really explained what is actually homosexual about the video. Are there men hugging or kissing in an erotic fashion? Are they dressed in a stereotypically "gay" fashion? What mannerisms or voice inflection suggests anything homosexual?

    I don't see anything. The curl on Buri's forehead is part of his Elvis costume. Is the singing "gay?" That's what I questioned that with the boy band reference. Point to one thing in the video that is overtly demonstrates or heavily implies anything "gay." Where's the effeminate stuff you mention?

    The only thing that makes any sense to me would be the lack of demonstrable heterosexuality as defined by most secular music videos - singing about women, featuring attractive women dressed immodestly/doing immodest things - isn't in this video, so that makes it gay?

    In short, choosing to call this video "gay" is inexcusably derogatory and offensive (Prof's response is off topic entirely, no one is debating politics or liberalism).

    Declaring that the video is "gay" is akin to calling someone who did or acted in a miserly or stingy fashion "Jew" because Jews are stereotypically (offensively so) obsessive about money.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are welcome, and greatly encouraged! I certainly want to foster open discussion, so if you have something to say about anything I've written, don't hesitate! I also greatly enjoy comments/critiques of my stories. But please, no spam.