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Judaism in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

This is a work in progress.

Judaism is not discussed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it is present. Several characters, props, and scenes exhibit this. Much of this comes from fan theory, and may not be considered canonical. Fans speculate and explore this theme, however. Blog posts, social media, and fan fiction are all venues through which Judaism in the MCU is discussed. This article explores the MCU and not versions of characters from comic books and other media, though they may be referenced.

Bucky Barnes

James Buchanan Barnes, known as Bucky, made his first appearance in the MCU in Captain America: The First Avenger in 2011. He is portrayed as a confident ladies' man, who sticks up for his shrimpy friend Steve Rogers. He is a soldier in the United States Army during World War II, holding the rank of Sergeant. He is on leave from duty and is set to leave the next morning. He spends the evening at a convention where he sees Howard Stark introduce his failed attempt to invent a flying car. He would meet Stark again later. Bucky finds that Steve has run off to attempt enlisting once again, as he had been rejected for health issues many times previously. He finds Steve and, knowing he cannot dissuade him, salutes and exits. This is the last time he is seen on screen until Steve risks his life to save Bucky and his unit from a prisoner of war camp behind Nazi lines.

Prisoner of war camps in Nazi-occupied Europe were generally supposed to follow the terms of the Geneva Conventions they had signed in 1929, but many did not. The movie portrays soldiers being kept in small cells and some being taken away. It would have been impossible to know if this was for interrogation, transportation, or execution. Jewish soldiers in World War II faced a series of difficult choices. During this time, the United States Military put a letter on soldiers' dog-tags to identify religion, such as "C" for Catholic, "P" for Protestant, or "H" for Hebrew (meaning Jewish). Knowing that they could be captured, Jewish soldiers would sometimes report that they belonged to a different faith. Others, if capture was inevitable, threw their dog-tags away from them. Many did neither, with many captured pilots going so far as to put mezuzahs on theirs because they wanted the Nazis to know they were responsible for bombing them, an act of both protest and military strategy. Of those who did not, some surviving soldiers later reported feeling guilt, but their fears were not unfounded. In very rare cases, Jewish soldiers who were known to be Jewish or discovered to be were handed over to the SS or the Gestapo. The law dictated that Jews be separated from non-Jews by nationality but otherwise treated the same. And while some camps run by the Wehrmacht refused to segregate or force Jews to wear a Yellow Star, simply because of the international repercussions, the Jewish prisoners were often given starvation rations, subjected to harsh labor, and banned from praying. Because they could not themselves be violent towards the Jewish pows, some German guards would try to incite the non-Jewish pows to attack the Jewish pows for them. Additionally, the threat of being transported to the East, alone, was far more effective on Jews than non-Jews. Knowing the potential danger it could cause, it is an historically possible scenario that if Bucky Barnes were Jewish, he would have taken advantage of his last name, which is not common for Jews, and reported himself as Protestant. This is one explanation many fans use to defend their theory when the "P" on his dog-tags are pointed out.

Another explanation of the theory in regard to the dog-tags stems from the fact that Jewish soldiers experienced antisemitism from their own comrades as well.

The Small Time (Web Series)

The Small Time is an award-winning 2015 web series about hapless literary agent Ben Bernstein. He tries to find the one writer who can be the next big thing. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of great books sitting in the bottom of the barrel. Ben has to navigate pitches from a host of authors, one loopier and more out-of-touch than the last, while also juggling his surly assistant and nagging parents (Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker) — who just happen to be the only successful authors Ben represents. The series won several awards, including a Webby Award for "Best Writing."

Creators and Cast

The Small Time is co-created and co-written by Jack Canfora and Andrew Rein.

Jack Canfora

Jack Canfora

Jack Canfora co-created/co-wrote/executive produced The Small Time. He is also an award-winning playwright, with such accolades as being the recipient of two Edgerton Playwriting Awards and a Webby Award winner. The 2012 production of his play Poetic License performed at 59E59 was hailed as "White-hot entertainment" by the Associated Press. Jericho, another Canfora play, was a New York Times "Critics' Pick". The New York Times' review described Jericho "as painfully significant, an intelligent intertwining of the nature of grief, cultural identity, fraught relationships, and shared tragedy.” The Theater Communications Group wrote that Jericho is "an important addition to the repertory of the American Theater.” Canfora has had many regional productions of his plays staged. Canfora is the Creative Director for New Normal Repertory, an online theater group.

Rich Jack

Rich Jack directed and edited The Small Time. His other editorial work includes Apologies to Bunuel and ten episodes of Everything's Relative, and Trans-Siberian Orchestra: The Birth of Rock Theater.

Andrew Rein

Andrew Rein

In addition to co-creating and co-writing The Small Time, Rein stars as Ben Bernstein. Previously, he starred as Ethan Off-Broadway in Canfora's Jericho in 2013. He was featured in Acts of Love at the Kirk Theatre, as well as in TBTB’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He has acted in such regional productions as both Barnum and Love’s Labour’s Lost at PCPA Theatrefest, Mojo at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, andThe Play’s the Thing and The Makropoulos Secret with Washington Stage Guild. He acted in I Hate Hamlet at the Bickford Theater. Worker Bee, his one-man show, was twice given at NBC's live performance space, PSNBC.

Jill Eikenberry

Jill Eikenberry stars alongside her husband in The Small Time as Ben's mother Jill. She is known for her role as lawyer Ann Kelsey on the NBC drama L.A. Law, for which she is a five-time Emmy Award and four-time Golden Globe Award nominee, winning the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama Series in 1989. She received an Obie Award in 1986 for the Off-Broadway plays Lemon Sky and Life Under Water, and was nominated for a 2011 Drama Desk Award for the Off-Broadway musical The Kid. Jill has been active in film, television, and theater for over fifty years.

Eikenberry and Tucker in "The Small Time"

Michael Tucker

Michael Tucker stars alongside his wife in The Small Time as Ben's mother, Michael. He is known for his role as Stuart Markowitz in the hit series, L.A. Law.  His 8-year stint on the popular NBC-TV drama brought him three Emmy™ nominations and two Golden Globe™ nominations. Off-Broadway, he has performed in productions of Based on a Totally True Story, Modigliani, The Rivals, Mother Courage.  Broadway: Trelawney of the Wells at Lincoln Center, The Goodbye People, I’m Not Rappaport as well as principal roles in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Measure for Measure and The Comedy of Errors for Joe Papp in Central Park.

Guest Stars

Kevin Isola

Kevin Isola has performed on Broadway in Brooklyn Boy and Off-Broadway in shows such as Ethel Sings (The Beckett), By The Way, Meet Vera Stark (Second Stage), Almost, Jericho and New House Under Construction (both at 59E59 Street Theatre),  Aliens with Extraordinary Skills (The Women’s Project), Trust (The Play Company),Twelfth Night, Venus.  His regional theater credits inlcude My Wonderful Day (Two River Theatre), The Glass Menagerie (The Old Globe),The New Bozena (The Hudson Theatre, The Tiffany Theatre), Venus (Yale Repertory), Around The World in Eighty Days, King Lear, As You Like It (all for Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey). He has acted in a slew of television and film productions. He is also a writer.

Reception

The Small Time received positive reviews and was nominated for several awards, winning a Webby Award for "Best Writing."

It also won the audience award at the 2016 Katra Film Series. Other wins include Best Web Series at the Blackbird Film Fest (where it was also nominated for Best Sound Design and Best of Fest), and it won Gold at the DC Web Fest.

It was an Official Selection of the NYTVF Independent Pilot Competition for 2016, as well as at the 2016 Irvine International Film Festival, FirstGlance Film Festival 2016, and the T.O. Web Fest 2016.

In 2016, it was shown at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Short Film Showcase in NYC.