Jon Stewart thought more people would be aghast at Harry Potter's anti-Semitic banker goblins
Jon Stewart jumped seamlessly from bar mitzvahs to the Harry Potter franchise on the latest The Problem With Jon Stewart podcast. A bar mitzvah used to be a low-key affair with Torah recitation and pound cake, he said, but now "it's basically like saying 'The Jews have arrived, and we are going to dazzle you with the access.'"
"'The Jews Have Arrived' — what chapter of Harry Potter is that in?" staff writer Jay Jurden asked. "It's when they get to Gringotts, right?" And Stewart was off.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Rowling created a magical world were people ride dragons and there are magic train platforms, "and who should run the bank? Jews," Stewart said. "And not only that, I feel like she was like, 'Why did you make it so subtle?'" Jurden deadpanned.
Staff writer Henrik Blix said even as an 11-year-old Harry Potter fan, he knew the goblin thing was messed up when he saw it in the movie. Stewart said that realization appeared surprisingly rare. "It was one of those things where I saw on the screen and I was expecting the crowd to be like, 'Holy s--t, she did not, in a wizarding world, just throw Jews in there to run the f--king underground bank!' And everybody was just like, 'Wizards.' It was so weird." There is some NSFW language, but watch below for the whole conversation, including Jurden comparing Dobby the house elf to Harriet Tubman.
-
One great cookbook: Joshua McFadden’s ‘Six Seasons of Pasta’the week recommends The pasta you know and love. But ever so much better.
-
Scientists are worried about amoebasUnder the radar Small and very mighty
-
Buddhist monks’ US walk for peaceUnder the Radar Crowds have turned out on the roads from California to Washington and ‘millions are finding hope in their journey’
-
Heated Rivalry, Bridgerton and why sex still sells on TVTalking Point Gen Z – often stereotyped as prudish and puritanical – are attracted to authenticity
-
Film reviews: ‘Send Help’ and ‘Private Life’Feature An office doormat is stranded alone with her awful boss and a frazzled therapist turns amateur murder investigator
-
February’s new movies include rehab facilities, 1990s Iraq and maybe an apocalypsethe week recommends Time travelers, multiverse hoppers and an Iraqi parable highlight this month’s offerings during the depths of winter
-
The 8 best animated family movies of all timethe week recomends The best kids’ movies can make anything from the apocalypse to alien invasions seem like good, wholesome fun
-
Film reviews: ‘The Testament of Ann Lee,’ ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,’ and ‘Young Mothers’Feature A full-immersion portrait of the Shakers’ founder, a zombie virus brings out the best and worst in the human survivors, and pregnancy tests the resolve of four Belgian teenagers
-
The 8 best biopic movies of the 21st century (so far)the week recommends Not all true stories are feel good tales, but the best biopics offer insight into broader social and political trends
-
Film review: ‘The Choral’Feature Ralph Fiennes plays a demanding aesthete
-
Golden Globes affirm ‘One Battle,’ boost ‘Hamnet’Speed Read Comedian Nikki Glaser hosted the ceremony
