O pinion
relics over the phone.

But it’s not just Gary.

Seemingly everyone in the
movie, from lecherous older
industry veterans to upstart
young politicos, is obsessed
with Alana — not in spite of her
obviously Jewish appearance,
but because of it. Anderson
plays up Haim’s physical paral-
lels to the Jewish beauties of the
era: a casting director (Harriet
Sansom Harris) gushes over
her “Jewish nose,” which she
notes is a very in-demand
look, while real-life producer
Jon Peters (played by Bradley
Cooper as a manic, sex-crazed
lunatic), gets very handsy
with Alana — after pointedly
bragging that Streisand is his
girlfriend. “Licorice Pizza” is in line
with ideas espoused in Henry
Bial’s 2005 book “Acting Jewish:
Negotiating Ethnicity on the
American Stage and Screen,”
particularly its chapter on the
’70s, which Bial described as
the period when “Jews became
sexy.” Streisand, at the time
of her Broadway debut in the
early ’60s, was described in
reviews as a “homely frump”
and “a sloe-eyed creature with
folding ankles.” But by the
’70s, bolstered by her immense
charisma and no-apolo-
gies attitude toward her own
stardom, she was one of
popular culture’s greatest sex
symbols, even appearing on
the cover of Playboy in 1977
— the year after starring in
and producing her own “A Star
is Born” remake. Her physical
appearance didn’t change in
the intervening time; only the
public’s reactions to it did.

Anderson himself was born
in 1970, so the teenaged adven-
tures in the film aren’t his
memories specifically — they’re
mostly those of his friend Gary
Goetzman, a former child actor
who lived through many of the
episodes depicted in the movie.

And Anderson himself is not
Jewish, though his longtime
partner Maya Rudolph, who
has a small part in the film, is.

Yet perhaps by virtue of being
born into a world in which
Jewish women were suddenly
being considered
sexy, Anderson seems to innately
understand the period-specific
sexual, cultural and spiritual
dynamics that would lead to
someone like Alana being
celebrated for her looks.

Anderson wasn’t immune to
those dynamics. As a child he
had a crush on Alana Haim’s
mother, Donna Rose, who
was his art teacher: “I was in
love with her as a young boy,
absolutely smitten,” he told
The New York Times, waxing
rhapsodic about her “long,
beautiful, flowing brown hair.”
For much of the film, Alana
is unsure whether or how to
leverage her sex appeal, as she
also tries to figure out what she
wants to do with her life. An
attempt to respect the wishes
of her traditional family (the
other Haims, including their
real parents, play the Kane clan)
by dating a nice, successful,
age-appropriate Jewish guy
ends in disaster at a Shabbat
dinner when the guy himself,
Lance (Skyler Gisondo), refuses
to say the “hamotzi” prayer.

The scene also touches on
the debate over “religious” vs.

“cultural” Judaism that has
been raging in American Jewish
circles since at least the time
period when the film is set. While
acknowledging he was “raised in
the Jewish tradition,” Lance cites
“Vietnam” as the reason why he
now identifies as an atheist and
can’t bring himself to recite a
blessing. In response, Alana gets
him to admit he’s circumcised
before declaring, “Then you’re
a f–king Jew!”
The moral of the scene might
be the movie’s biggest lesson
to impart about Judaism: It’s
not just a belief system. It’s an
innate part of you, affecting
everything from your hair to
your nose to your genitals. It
can make you be perceived
as ugly in one decade, and a
bombshell in the next. l
Stephen Silver writes for JTA.

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KVETCH ’N’ KVELL
Article Overlooked Past Leaders
CONGRATULATIONS TO JUDY GRONER on her retirement
and her many accomplishments at PJDS (“Perelman Day School
Leader to Retire,” Dec. 23).

It is unfortunate that the article failed to acknowledge
the many achievements of previous administrations and the
dedicated faculty who laid the foundation that enabled Perelman
to continue growing. Much work and many devoted people made
Perelman the institution it is today.

Rita Ross | Wynnewood
Student Debt and the American Dream
In Rabbi Emily Cohen’s op-ed about student debt relief (“We’re
in a Shmita Year. So Why Aren’t American Jews Talking More
About Student Debt Relief?”, Dec. 23), she describes herself as
“unbelievably lucky” that her parents paid her undergraduate
education costs “due to generational wealth resulting from many
Jews being coded as white after World War II.”
As a parent who paid the undergraduate costs of my children,
I would be extremely offended if they felt the same. Luck has
nothing to do with it and neither does being “coded as white.”
Parents set priorities, and in Jewish families, education is at the
top of the list. We worked hard, eschewed fancy cars and extrav-
agant vacations and put away money for our children’s education
from the day they were born.

My family didn’t automatically accrue “generational wealth,”
and I would be quite surprised if Rabbi Cohen’s family somehow
did. There is no shame coming from a family that works hard to
realize the American dream.

Neil Shapiro | Blue Bell
Loans Are Meant to be Repaid
Rabbi Cohen’s op-ed (“We’re in a Shmita Year. So Why Aren’t
American Jews Talking More About Student Debt Relief?”, Dec,
23) points out that she has been lucky with her student debt and
many are not as fortunate. But there are several points she does
not address.

The first is simple. If you take out a loan you are expected,
legally and morally, to repay it. Rights come with responsibilities,
and usually the latter is not mentioned. Secondly, the lender has
debts to pay that are contingent upon the borrower living up to
their end of the bargain. Thirdly, there are many ways to offset
debt, including employer repayment plans (as part of a compen-
sation packet); and joining the military to get GI Bill-type
subsidies (which paid for my graduate degree).

Another option is skipping college and learning a trade, which
is much cheaper and often pays better. And if one decides to go to
college, get a degree with some value to potential employers, thus
broadening future employment prospects.

A good lesson in life is to pay your way, not allowing yourself
to be a victim. It would make for a much better life down the
line in most cases. Before looking for student loan relief, look at
the many options available before you decide to assume it but do
not make someone else pay for your questionable decision. As a
society, we would all be better for it. l
Matt Segal | Cary, North Carolina
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