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#nice jewish character showdown round two
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[Image description: a graphic showing Kermit the Frog in a snazzy turtleneck outfit VS Rebecca Bunch from Crazy Ex Girlfriend in the middle of a musical number. The title of the matchup is oriented vertically on either side of the picture and reads "Nice Jewish Character Showdown, Round Two: There's No Business Like Show Business!" End ID.]
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hayscodejew · 1 year
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With 230(!) votes, the results are in for round one of the Nice Jewish Character Showdown! Voting for round two is live here, and is open until 6 pm EST on Friday, October 28th. Check below the break for detailed results on the first round of voting!
The Pines twins scratched the Strilondes out of their save file, winning 88.3% of the vote (203) versus their 11.7% (17).
Tommy Pickles is being put down for his nap, losing the vote with 38.7% (89) against Ron Stoppable's 61.3% (141).
As much as I love Toby (and had him as the winner on my own bracket), his political know-how was no match for James Buchanan Barnes, raking in only a third of the votes (31.3%, 72 votes, versus 68.7% and 158).
The war of the SoCal NJBs who rocked our tv screens in the early 00's has been decided, with Seth Cohen losing the vote (19.6%, 45 votes) to Disney Channel's Gordo (80.4%, 185). The power of a bar mitzvah episode!
The first of several tight races, Gretchen Weiners has run over Cher Horowitz with a school bus (don't worry, she's fine), with a vote of 118 (51.3%) to 112 (48.7%).
Second of the neck and neck races, turns out Fran Fine is just what the doctor prescribed, beating Barbie 117 (50.9%) to 113 (49.1%). All those Christmas dresses really don't work in Babs' favor, huh?
Whatcha doin', Rachel Berry? Not winning the tournament, that's for sure! Isabella took Rachel out to the curb, with an impressive margin of 205 (89.1%) to 25 (10.9%). I'm sure Rachel will take it in stride, though -- after all, "you're all minorities, you're in the glee club" (Mr. Schue, s1e7)
In a somewhat surprising (and potentially upsetting) twist, the coded character beats the explicitly Jewish one in the battle of the Smart Bitches, knocking Christina Yang out early and keeping Miss Frizzle in the competition (175, 76.1% to 55, 23.9%). It's okay, Christina, there's space for you in the school bus. Field trip!
No surprises that our next matchup is as close as it is... with 119 votes (51.7%) to 111 (48.3%), the winner of the DC Patriarch matchup is Bruce Wayne himself, Batman. It's okay, Kal-El, I'm still thinking about the Hebrew School class when we discussed your story as a Moses allegory.
I'm convinced that Ben Grimm and Peter Parker go to the same synagogue, which makes his loss to the webslinger a bit easier to handle (29 votes to Spiderman's 201, 12.6% to 87.4%). BTW if y'all haven't read the comic where The Thing becomes canon Jewish, you're missing out.
Is anyone shocked that Spock won the Space Jews matchup? No? Me neither. As much as I love a good Futurama episode, nothing beats Nimoy. Zoidberg's going back in the dumpster he lives in behind the Planet Express building, bringing home 39 votes (17%) in comparison to Spock's whopping 191 (83%).
Yoinks, how'd the Scooby Gang manage to win this one? With a margin I by no means expected to be this definitive, the Mystery Machine pulls ahead of the ENTIRE cast of the X-Men with 154 votes (67%) to their 76 (33%).
In the war of the Magical Boys, the alchemy was not in Edward Elric's favor, getting only 39.1% of the vote (90) to Steven Universe's 60.9% (140).
The last of the neck and neck battles, turns out Sam Manson is going ghost, with 49.6% of the vote to Willow Rosenberg's 50.4% (114 to 116).
I guess my thesis had some public consensus backing, because about two thirds of y'all agree that werewolves are INCREDIBLY Jewish, 143 votes to 87 belonging to Frankenstein's Monster (62.2% and 37.8%). Stream 'Cry Wolf' on Spotify.
Oscar the Grouch's cousin Moishe is definitely pleased with the results here, with the Muppet ranking in 58.3% of the vote against Jake the Dog's 41.7% (134 to 96).
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[Image description: a graphic showing Ferris Bueller from Ferris Bueller's Day Off versus Magneto from the X-Men comics. The title of the matchup is oriented vertically on either side of the picture and reads "Nice Jewish Character Showdown, Round Two: Skipping School & Breaking Rules" End ID.]
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[Image description: a graphic showing Truman from The Truman Show versus the Welcome to Nightvale logo, representative of Cecil Palmer. The title of the matchup is oriented vertically on either side of the picture and reads "Nice Jewish Character Showdown, Round Two: Viewers Like You" End ID.]
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Nice Jewish Character Showdown 2023 - Round Two Eliminations
Another round has passed, one I'd liken to a bloodbath, and we're down to 8 competitors in the race for the NJCS 2023 title. Before the quarterfinal votes go live, let's check in with those disqualified contestants and discuss what makes them such Nice Jewish Characters.
Match One Elimination: Cristina Yang, Grey's Anatomy Probably the most well-known Asian Jew in television, Cristina Yang is canonically Jewish, thanks to her step-father who raised her in it (her mother converted). Grey's has a weird relationship with Judaism, like a lot of medical dramas, but it definitely gets points for the rare and definitely appreciated look at how diverse the Jewish population is.
Match Two Elimination: Tevye, Fiddler on the Roof It's the quintessential Jewish musical, it's one of the main reasons we've seen a shtetl-core resurgence, it's Fiddler! It was definitely the match-up of the dads this time around, and as much as I love this man, his success rate in reference to loving and supporting his daughters is, well... not a perfect score. Thank you Sholem Aleichem for the original stories, thank you Chaim Topol for your iconic portrayal in the movie, alongside Zero Mostel, Leonard Nimoy (yes, Nimoy played Tevye for a bit!), Alfred Molina, Harvey Fierstein, Danny Burstein, and many, many more. Nothing truly hits like being a Jew in the diaspora and watching Fiddler. Still bummed I haven't had a chance to see Yiddler, the Yiddish remount. (Oh, and Fiddler tends to be free on Youtube, so if you haven't seen it before -- or want to revisit Anatevka, treat yourself!)
Match Three Elimination: Rebecca Bunch, Crazy Ex Girlfriend *hits top of a car* this baby can fit so many song titles from CEXG in it When looking for representation, it can often feel like no one else is singing your song. Sure, there are the characters whose Judaism is restricted to reminding you that we've suffered, or who become props for some Christmas Special. But then we get a gem in the rough, a girl in love, a Jewish American Princess who moves across the country to follow a former summer camp crush. Crazy Ex Girlfriend was a rarity, and the four season run blessed us with a lot of quality television, and something even rarer -- a multidimensional Jewish lead. If you haven't had a chance to meet Rebecca, the entire show is available to stream on Netflix. And yes, when I realized how much she was losing this round, this song was on loop in my brain. Apologies to Rachel Bloom and the rest of the CEXG team, I seriously thought you'd sweep this thing. What a twisted fate.
Match Four Elimination: Lily Moscovitz, The Princess Diaries Oh, Lily, I think the internet misunderstands you more often than not these days. But to ignore your Jewishness is an absolute faux pas, whether you're looking at the movies or the much more blatantly Jewish representation you get in the books. Seriously though, I can think of at least a handful of Jewish girls I grew up with who remind me of the headstrong public access host. Side note -- to all the girlies who grew up hating their curly hair because of the nightmare of a makeover Mia got, I'm right there with you, and we'll get through this together. Honestly, I think there's something to be said about Jew-coding's relationship with makeover scenes, but we don't have the time for that right now.
Match Five Elimination: Francine Frensky, Arthur I've mentioned before how I grew up on public access television, so is it any surprise when I say that Francine was (probably) the first time I saw myself on television? Even if it didn't come up a lot outside of holiday episodes (at least in the seasons that aired when I watched), Francine's Judaism felt recognizable. Plus, if you told her she was just token representation, she'd probably sock you in the face. Oh, and something I found while researching -- THE GOLEM IS A PLOT POINT IN A HALLOWEEN EPISODE?! Seriously, props to PBS.
Match Six Elimination: Ferris Bueller, Ferris Bueller's Day Off Finding good representation in any 80's movie is going to be an uphill battle, considering well. The 80's-ness of it all. So when looking for a good Jewish character, it's much easier to default back to the transitive property of Jewish media (art made by Jews being Jewish by way of their perspective being translated into the text). Since Matthew Broderick, Ferris himself, is Jewish, who's to say the most beloved delinquent of his era isn't too? Plus, he's a stock standard rebel against restrictive institutions. Listen, I have the original Footloose on my coded Jewish representation Letterboxd list, I have no room to judge. *Points to Ferris* That's a NJB right there.
Match Seven Elimination: Truman Burbank, The Truman Show Speaking of my coded Jewish representation Letterboxd list, this movie SCREAMS Judaism to me. Come on -- it's so critical of Christianity that it almost falls backwards into Judaism. Free will in spite of a higher power? Disagreeing with authority so much that you flee your home, your world, your reality? Helps that his hometown is so heavily designed after post-war 50's suburbia, which has its own relationship with being Jewish. So is Truman Jewish? I think he can be -- watch the movie and make the call for yourself. It's a classic for a reason, and I won't rob you of the experience.
Match Eight Elimination: Wall-E, Wall-E Wall-E, my robot blorbo, the most Guy of any Pixar protagonist -- what makes him Jewish? He loves Barbra Streisand, collects tcotchkes, and is relentlessly working to make the world better, even if he's the only one still doing it (tikkun olam has NEVER seen a cuter mascot).
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[Image description: a graphic showing Wall-E, from the eponymous Disney movie, versus Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation. The title of the matchup is oriented vertically on either side of the picture and reads "Nice Jewish Character Showdown, Round Two: Do Robots Say the Shema?" End ID.]
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[Image description: a graphic showing Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof, as portrayed by Danny Burstein, versus Clark Kent, mid outfit transition to Superman. The title of the matchup is oriented vertically on either side of the picture and reads "Nice Jewish Character Showdown, Round Two: Tradition!" End ID.]
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[Image description: a graphic showing the 9th Doctor from Doctor Who versus Cristina Yang from Grey's Anatomy. The title of the matchup is oriented vertically on either side of the picture and reads "Nice Jewish Character Showdown, Round Two: How to Save a Life" End ID.]
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[Image description: a graphic showing Lily Moscovitz from The Princess Diaries versus Edna Mode from The Incredibles. The title of the matchup is oriented vertically on either side of the picture and reads "Nice Jewish Character Showdown, Round Two: Bitches with Bobs (pos)" End ID.]
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The results are in from round one, thank you all for your enthusiasm, it's been a joy to see your responses and tags! I'll have the fights ready sometime tomorrow I think -- I'll give you heads up before they post. In the meantime, I posted a character analysis write up of the eliminated contestants, discussing what makes them such Nice Jewish Characters. (Doing this after they've been eliminated in order to avoid influencing running votes). See you tomorrow for round two!
Round Two fights will be as follows: - 9th Doctor VS Christina Yang - Tevye VS Superman - Kermit The Frog VS Rebecca Bunch - Lily Moscovitz VS Edna Mode - The Addams Family VS Francine Frensky - Ferris Bueller VS Magneto - Truman VS Cecil Palmer - Wall-E VS Data
[Image description: a bracket of 32 competitors for the Nice Jewish Character Showdown. The contenders who have been eliminated from the last round have been put through a black and white filter -- James Wilson from House MD, Susan Ivanova from Babylon 5, Avigdor from Yentl, Samwise Gamgee from Lord of the Rings, George Costanza from Seinfeld, Schmidt from New Girl, The Baudelaires from ASOUE, Tommy Pickles from Rugrats, The Strilondes from Homestuck, Frankenstein, The Baker from Into The Woods, Will Byers from Stranger Things, The Lorax, and Worf from Star Trek TNG.
The left side has the following matches for round two: the 9th Doctor from Doctor Who VS Christina Yang from Grey's Anatomy, Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof VS Clark Kent/Superman, Kermit the Frog VS Rebecca Bunch from Crazy Ex Girlfriend, and Lily Moscovitz from The Princess Diaries VS Edna Mode from The Incredibles.
The right side has The Addams Family VS Francine Frensky from Arthur, Ferris Bueller VS Magneto, Truman from the Truman Show VS Cecil Palmer from Welcome to Nightvale, and Wall-E vs Data from TNG. Text says Nice Jewish Character Showdown on top, and bottom text is Round Two, followed by the @ for the account, @nicejewishcharactershowdown]
[End ID]
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[Image description: a graphic showing The Addams Family, as depicted on the poster for the 1991 movie, versus Francine Frensky from Arthur. The title of the matchup is oriented vertically on either side of the picture and reads "Nice Jewish Character Showdown, Round Two: A Very Interesting Shabbos Dinner Table" End ID.]
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okay, all polls for round two are queued! voting opens tomorrow (February 13) at 2pm EST.
see y'all tomorrow :))))
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REMINDER -- NICE in Nice Jewish Character Showdown is not an evaluation of personality, but in quality of representation! Who do you see yourself in more?
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REMINDER -- NICE in Nice Jewish Character Showdown is not an evaluation of personality, but in quality of representation! Who do you see yourself in more?
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REMINDER -- NICE in Nice Jewish Character Showdown is not an evaluation of personality, but in quality of representation! Who do you see yourself in more?
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REMINDER -- NICE in Nice Jewish Character Showdown is not an evaluation of personality, but in quality of representation! Who do you see yourself in more?
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