Saturday, June 10, 2006

The Jewish Hammer

I just saw (and liked) Jonathan Kesselman's film, "The Hebrew Hammer," on my Cable TV. It's a slapstick about a Jewish private detective who saves Hanukah from an evil Santa Claus who wants to make everyone celebrate only Christmas.
The film parodies many common stereotypes about Jews but what attracted my attention was the extensive use of the Star of David to instantly characterize Judaism:
· On the Hammer's blue-and-white Cadillac hood.
· On the Cadillac's rear window.
· On the Cadillac's front door.
· On the Hammer's Belt.
· On the Hammer's spears.
· On the eye-patch of the chief of the Jewish Justice League.
· On the wall of the chief's office
· On the Israeli flag in the chief's office.
· On the entrance door to the Jewish Justice League building.
· On top of the device of the Jewish Atomic Clock.
· On the wall In the Hammer's mother's house.
· On the necklace of the Hammer's girlfriend.
…And I'm sure I missed a few others. It looks like a promotion film for Stars of David!
Another Jewish Hammer, a real one, is Jewish boxer Dmitriy Salita who goes by the name of “The Star of David” and wears a Magen David on his trucks.

Rastafarians

The Magen David is used to symbolize not only the Jewish religion but also the Rastafarian religion. It is used on a lot of reggae CD covers. The Rastafarians use the Magen David because they believe that their leader, the late King of Ethiopia Haile Selassie I was descendant from King Solomon and King David. (In Amharic Haile Selassie means "Power of Trinity". His former name was Ras Tafari Markonnen (1892-1975).