New Directions in Israeli Media
Film, Television, and Digital Content
A comprehensive analysis of the major trends and developments in contemporary Israeli media.
In the twenty-first century, Israeli filmmaking has transformed from a localized industry into a globally recognized and diverse national cinema, its filmmakers gaining prominence internationally and introducing new themes, aesthetics, and voices to the scene. At the same time, Israeli television shows have emerged as a dominant force, propelled by the rise of streaming. Through the rise of online content creation and consumption, especially in the 2010s, new voices have revolutionized the creative landscape.
With Israel’s position at the cutting edge of technology and virtual platforms, Israeli media has seen a boom, winning prizes at international film festivals and adapting shows like Euphoria, Homeland, and Fauda for wider audiences. In New Directions in Israeli Media, fourteen contributors detail the shifting dynamics of Israeli cinema, television, and online content in the digital age, exploring how globalization, technological advances, and changing audience preferences are reshaping creative industries. Editors Yaron Peleg, Eran Kaplan, and Ido Rosen have assembled a volume that prompts critical reflection on the intersection of art, technology, and culture in a rapidly changing media landscape.
This exciting collection explores the vibrant landscape of Israeli cinema and multimedia, delving into diverse themes, including LGBTQ culture, the place of the Holocaust, militarism, Palestinian narratives, Mizrahi identity, and Haredi representation. Spanning film, television, streaming platforms, and social media, it presents cutting-edge scholarship that redefines how Israeli culture and identity are portrayed and contested across diverse and evolving media landscapes.
By delving into the realm of new Israeli creations in an era characterized by excessive globalization in television networks and streaming platforms, New Directions in Israeli Media not only introduces fresh topics for discussion and examination but also explores the emerging landscape of online media platforms. A highly innovative and enlightening book, this volume offers a diverse range of perspectives on Israeli media, presenting innovative topics that stem from within Israeli society.
Yaron Peleg is Kennedy-Leigh Professor in Modern Hebrew Studies at the University of Cambridge. He is the author or editor of several books, including Israeli Cinema: Identities in Motion.
Eran Kaplan is the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Professor in Israel Studies at San Francisco State University. He is the author of several books, including Projecting the Nation: History and Ideology on the Israeli Screen.
Ido Rosen completed his PhD studies at the University of Cambridge. He was a member of the Israeli Film Critics Association and has worked as a journalist in a variety of leading media in his home country.
- Introduction
- Part I. Israeli Film in a Post-Cinematic Age
- 1. Toward a “Mystical Society”: Transcending the “Israeli” in Israeli Cinema (Dan Chyutin)
- 2. Avi Nesher’s Present-Past Trilogy (Shmulik Duvdevani)
- 3. Palestinian Ghosts on Israeli Screens (Olga Gershenson)
- 4. Track Changes: The New Wave of Palestinian Cinema (Yael Ben-Zvi Morad)
- 5. A Look at Ageing: Old Age in Israeli Documentary (Yael Shenker)
- Part II. The Global Context of Israeli National Television
- 6. Set within a Set: TVs in Israeli Cinema, between the Local and the Global (Eran Kaplan)
- 7. Inevitable Lies and Impossible Truths: Our Boys as Transnational Docudrama (2019) (Itay Harlap)
- 8. Valley of Tears (2020) and the Aesthetics of Populism (Oded Nir)
- 9. The New Black: Haredi Jews on Israeli Television (Shayna Weiss)
- Part III. The Creative Imperatives of Online Media in Israel and Beyond
- 10. Uploading Memory: Repurposing Historical Icons as Rituals of Remembrance in Sagi Bornstein and Udi Nir’s #Uploading_Holocaust (2016) (Yael Mazor)
- 11. Don’t Grow Up, It’s a Trap: The Temporality of Israeli Web Comedies (Ido Rosen)
- 12. Genre Fluidity: The Case of Zot Vezoti (2019) (Yaron Peleg)
- 13. Welcome to the Middle East: Ethnicity, Disidentification, and Queer Performativity in the Arisa Gay Mizrahi Videos (Raz Yosef)
- 14. The Israeli Trans Tipping Point: Mediating the Trans Gaze from Televised Cis Gazes to Web T4T Intimacies (Slava Greenberg)
- Contributors
- Index
