Bonus Episode: The Torah of Reality TV — Jumping the Fence, Jewishly - Catherine Horowitz
Catherine Horowitz, the 2022-23 New Voices Magazine/Judaism Unbound fellow, joins Lex Rofeberg for a conversation on how TV, and the way we watch it, creates ritual. They also discuss how we can use TV to further shape our religious practices and communities. Access full shownotes for this episode via this link.
[1] You can listen to previous New Voices Fellows’ bonus episodes on Judaism Unbound via Bonus Episode: Pluralism of Necessity - Rena Yehuda Newman and/or Bonus Episode: Whose Judaism? - Becca Lubow.
[2] Catherine mentions that she has many thoughts about whether dating shows are strategy shows. If this interests you, you can listen to the podcast Game of Roses, which views The Bachelor as “the fastest growing professional sport in the world."
[3] Lex mentions being part of a Bachelor fantasy league. You can see an example of how some reality TV fantasy leagues work here.
[4] Catherine and Lex compare watching TV shows weekly to weekly Torah portions. This is also discussed in a past episode of Judaism Unbound which you can check out via Episode 330: Russian Doll as a Jewish Text - Allison Silverman.
[5] Read more about the ritualistic features within reality TV shows, which Catherine alludes to, via the piece “Religion and Reality TV: Is God Watching?” — featured in Religion Dispatches.
[6] Curious to watch precisely the moment that Catherine described, where Colton jumped the fence? Watch a video of it here!
[7] Lex mentions an article Catherine wrote about Colton’s season of The Bachelor. Read that piece, entitled “The Great Escape: On the Moment That Came to Shape The Bachelor Forever,” via this link.
[8] If you are interested in reading about how reality TV discusses Jews, Judaism, and religion as a whole, you can read Catherine’s article, for the Jewish Women’s Archive, about The Bachelor’s relationship to Judaism — along with its status as a “Christian dating show.”
[9] For more about how reality TV creates religious mythology, morals, and rituals today, you can reference the book Religion and Reality TV: Faith in Late Capitalism.
