Antisemitism in Sherlock Holmes movie

[Dorothy]

I didn't see the film Sherlock Holmes, but a writer at Constance's blog wrote "My hubby and I just returned from seeing it. It is despicable. I only stayed in the theater for my husband's sake. We should have left. It was blasphemous and anti-Semitic. I am appalled. Holmes' enemy is a diabolical maniac who wants to take over the world. The very opening scene is an occult ritual. I kept noticing cryptic writing that I thought looked Jewish. Finally a shot of a Satanic altar showed clear Hebrew letters on the base of the altar. I was livid! My thoughts immediately went to the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion. The movie linked the occult to Jewish symbols in a variety of ways."

She then linked to another's comment.
http://boards.theforce.net/science_f...0659183/p1/?10
http://tinyurl.com/ye8ap6q

(quote)
So what's the story?

Holmes has to stop a megalomaniac from taking over the world through alleged Satan worship, but is in fact Kabbala. The baddie who dresses like a Nazi from 1933 and speaks like one, wants to create a new world order. Where have we heard that one before? Oh yeah, Indiana Jones or was that WW2?

The greatest offence, as if the what I already mentioned wasn't enough , is the clear use of Jewish iconography and objects to create a sense of evil and danger. My wife , one of millions who can read Hebrew was shocked to see the following.

1- Showed a passage supposedly from the Kabbala ( a practice that was so deeply shunned at the time by Jews it was cause for hoying out of the congregation) ,.The passage purported to be about a ritual with animal parts was in fact a text about the elements of life.

2- At one point, the film casts evil intent on the character of some high nobles with the inclusion of a richly decorated ceremonial box. The box in fact is a Tzadakah box or charity box. You select a cause to donate to and drop your change in to eventually give it to the charity of your choice. To elevate such an object of good to symbol of evil and danger is the same as equating a breast feeding mother to that of a murderer.

3- During the film there is a massive overly long, slow motion explosion. The music played is the same as is used in every WW2 special about the concentration camps. It was creepy and unsettling.

4- Lastly they plan to kill off most of the members of the House of Lords and the House of Commons by using a device to activate poisonous pellets that will send the deadly smoke into the House of Commons turning it into a gas chamber.

This film is flawed in so many ways, but the use of Jewish symbols and sacred items in combination with the gas chamber imagery is beyond the pale. My Father fought the Nazi scum , survived Siberia and my wife's family only barely survived the camps. For Guy Ritchie to think this was ok to do is sickening .
(end of quote)

Normally if a movie or some other piece of writing is blatantly antisemitic, there will be many articles about it in the Jewish press. Yet I found no such articles coming out of the Jewish community. I think it might be that we've become so conditioned to New Age symbolism that we miss many things that should startle us.

Here are a few things that I've found.

http://www.soundtrack.net/movies/dat...60&page=review
http://tinyurl.com/ycqsn9n
"The parts of the film that alluded to the dark arts and secret societies reminded me a bit of Young Sherlock Holmes, though Ritchie's apparent dislike of Kabbalah seems to be evident in the negative imagery of Hebrew letters contained within the dark arts books used by the secret society, the Temple of the Four Orders"

http://faisaladmar.blogspot.com/2009...ck-holmes.html
This is the plot of the film.

The Temple of the Four Orders is a name made up for the film, but is supposedly based on Masonic and Golden Dawn rituals. Temple people are attempting to control the world using black magic.

Now Ritchie, the director, and his ex-wife Madonna were involved in a cult group, Kabbalah Centre, run by Berg. (The cult group and real Kabbalah study have nothing in common... dm.) Ritchie and Madonna have split. It seems obvious that Ritchie was just going along with Madonna's interest in the group as he was very clear a movie he was involved with in 2005 was to be based on the Kabbalah, and not in a good way.

http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=13177
http://tinyurl.com/y94qqh7
"Ritchie says the movie references Albert Pike's 1871 book 'Morals and Dogma', which draws parallels between Kabbalah and Freemasonry."

http://tinyurl.com/yecs22v
"Guy is “incandescent with rage” over the allegations, branding his wife’s faith a “weird religion”...A source said: “Guy’s initial support and interest in Kabbalah turned to annoyance and hatred. Guy doesn’t believe Kabbalah is a religion on a par with Christianity. He thinks a lot of it is hokum - which has infuriated Madonna.”

Given the above, I strongly doubt that the impression in the movie of a Jewish connection with a secret society that wants to run the world was just by chance. While the antisemitism is not blatant, the subliminal idea left in the mind of viewers is dangerous.

[Dorothy]

I posted this story in the threads, and it got pulled. They discuss the topic over at
http://community.livejournal.com/weirdjews/2066167.html

[Mil]

Common!!!!! Going overboard.

Actually this entire Sherlock Holmes movie is pretty stupid, especially for a British producer. They should have had Stallone play Watson and Angelina as Mrs. Hudson.

Surprisingly the best Sherlock Holmes I've watched is the Russian version, really great interpretation!

[redcake]

Movie makers aren't that tapped in or coordinated in their symbolism. They go for blatant and cheap, but there's no depth.

I'm more worried about fundamentalists who get excited by Alex Jones guests, and Rense/Infowars contributors, with Stormfront followings.

Know any of those?

[andak01]

Movie makers aren't that tapped in or coordinated in their symbolism. They go for blatant and cheap, but there's no depth.

I disagree. I think there is a lot of thought that goes into even schlock. I recently watched 2012 and the last scene of the film is a recognisable African continent with a floating island of Israel under a sunken Lebanon and next to a sunken Arabian penninsula, sunken Iraq and sunken Iran. Earlier in the film, there is a scene where an Arab family is going aboard the ark and they say something to the effect "Is that what was chosen to enter our gene pool?"

Go to about 1:29. Only the sound has been altered.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Omh7iaMdvf0

In the movie Ironman, Ironman encounters in Iraq or Afghanistan a village of people dressed as eastern European Jews being oppressed by Arabs. The father calls to his son Isaac. The project and the name of the village had Biblical overtones. As I understand, the original comic was very racist against the Vietnamese with Ironman the scorge of the Gooks.

[Dorothy]

Someone called my attention to this review of the movie. The writer was also concerned about the use of Hebrew and Jewish symbols.
http://jestherent.blogspot.com/2009/...ck-holmes.html

"But the most egregiously offensive scene in Ritchie’s wretched excess is when Hebrew letters are shown during the occult secret society’s gathering. (This apparently has escaped the notice of other critics.)

"Linking Jews to sinister scheming cabals that perpetrate blood sacrifice and world domination conspiracies is the vilest anti-Semitic stereotype perpetuated by The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which the Anti-Defamation League calls “a classic in paranoid, racist literature.” Its discredited lunacy has been propagated by hate mongers from Hitler to the Blackwood-like Osama Bin Laden. Through Madonna Ritchie was associated with Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism), and it’s doubtful he deliberately slurred Jews. Plus, Warner Bros. led Hollywood’s struggle against Nazism. However, the fact that Hebrew is onscreen when Holmes’ fanatical conspirators meet reveals how grossly insensitive these filmmakers who, willy-nilly, take liberties with a popular fictional character. (At least Ritchie doesn’t call Sherlock “Shylock.”)

"Had these no-talent hacks produced work with dramatis personae bearing monikers they’d concocted, I wouldn’t object (except to the anti-Semitism). But what’s particularly odious is Ritchie’s crew wrecking a well-established brand it did nothing to create. They’re deploying the same crowd pleasing formula Mel Gibson used in The Passion of the Christ: exploit preexisting brand names and add violence. Intriguingly, both films contain anti-Jewish references."

Rabbi Elliot Gertel, author of Over the Top Judaism: Precedents and Trends in the Depiction of Jewish Beliefs and Observances in Film and Television has not yet written a review of the film. If he does, I'll post the information.

[Mediocrates]

It probably has more to do with the Production Designer and the 4 Art Directors on the film than it does with Guy Ritchie who frankly, doesn't even seem bright enough to come up with this.

[redcake]

That's exactly right.

Just some background on how films work....The effects houses, production designers, set builders, interns, graphic designers, etc......they typically work independent from each other, in this case, in multiple countries, with few general notes and ideas. The production designer is the foreman, and there were 4 art directors on this film. At most, Ritchy may have said "take a piss at Kabbalah", but we're not talking about a Spike Jonze or Wes Anderson style auteur here. Ritchy wouldn't have had final cut over the 3 Executive Producers, chiefly - Joel Silver.

One more example of people who don't have a sophisticated view of the world outside their fundamentalist bubble, trying to read into things.


Andak, that hardly counts as depth.It's one thing for a George Lucas type to evoke some pop symbolism he picked up at the Ren Faire, or for James Cameron t o toss in some Zinn Reader politics, and it's another to pull off what Dorothy is insinuating. We're not talking about Song of the South level blatant racism, or a Scientology packaged film here. Chances are it's just meant to give a lightweight Hollywood film the appearance of depth....but don't mistake it for actual depth. Wouldn't you agree, anyone casually reading up on the life of the real "Sherlock Holmes" would encounter topics of mysticism, such as his unique relationship with Houdini?

[Dorothy]

The actor who played Lord Blackwood said
http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/03/...olmes-villain/
"...In Sherlock Holmes, Lord Blackwood is a occult-dabbling Satanist who ends up fighting Holmes.

"There's a touch of Dracula about him," Strong told Total Film. "He needed to have an element of showmanship about him by virtue of the fact that he's trying to persuade everyone around him that he's so in league with the Devil that he's able to conquer death. I just wanted to make him an equal adversary of Sherlock Holmes."

"Considering Mark Strong is one of the finest underrated and unknown actors around, I don't think he'll have any problem making him an equal adversary, especially opposite Robert Downey Jr. Strong also admits that Blackwood is somewhat based on the real life Aleister Crowley, a British occultist who wrote The Book of the Law and became known as "The Wickedest Man In the World."
...
I find associating Satanism with Kabbalah and the Hebrew language antisemitic.
Somebody had to do it or it wouldn't be in the film. Others had to OK it or it wouldn't be in the film. It not like no one noticed what one of the main characters was involved with.

At this website there are a number of stories that indicate that Ritchie played an active role in making the film.
http://www.zimbio.com/Guy+Stuart+Ritchie

[redcake]

It see, you're still talking about a film you haven't seen, and just repeating verbiage in large chunks left in the comments section of your friends blog.

Haven't you - yourself, associated Kabbalah with Satanism on this very forum?????

Maybe Guy Ritchy and his art dept. are a huge fan of your posts, and got the idea from you?

[dayag]

It see, you're still talking about a film you haven't seen, and just repeating verbiage in large chunks left in the comments section of your friends blog.

Haven't you - yourself, associated Kabbalah with Satanism on this very forum?????

Maybe Guy Ritchy and his art dept. are a huge fan of your posts, and got the idea from you?

No, she associated it with witchcraft actually:

source: http://www.israelforum.com/board/sho...42&postcount=9

And given that she considers Kabbalah to be occultic and bad, I can understand fully why she wouldn't want it portrayed in a movie lest the audience associate it with Judaism and Jews.

For what it is worth, I have seen the film twice. The ritual the very sceptical Holmes recreates with the Hebrew-language spell book looked a lot more like witchcraft (with a big 5 pointed pentagram, candles, blood, etc.) and I don't recall the word "Kabbalah" being mentioned by name. Also, the main villain also quotes from the New Testament in Latin as well. The villain's group were upper-class Brits and not seemingly Jewish at all. So, basically you get a quick glimpse of a book in Hebrew and a few inscriptions in Hebrew in their sanctuary, but other non-Jewish elements mixed in as well.

I think for the overwhelming majority of those who watch this film, it will just be a bunch of mumbo jumbo that flashed on the screen briefly.

[Dorothy]

No dayag, I didn't associate Kabbalah with witchcraft. Those were the words on the program of the The Israeli Friends of the Hebrew University; Jerusalem Branch. If you go to the link I gave you'll see that. http://tinyurl.com/ygpy6te

dayag, I'm surprised you buy into the stereotype that Jews are supposed to look a certain way. Well, I don't buy into the idea that a little bit of antisemitism is OK as long as it doesn't influence all of the people who see the movie. I'm not the only person who was bothered by the content of the movie. The links I gave show others were bothered by the connection that was made to Jews through Hebrew, the character of the villain and the activities of the secret society in the film. Though I understand from others the scenes go by quickly, without the villain there would be no story.

As you know from responses to this very website, not everyone affected by every topic given responds in writing to it. Regarding the content of the film, there was a comment on the Cumbey blog, a link to another webseite, another link to a discussion among several people who were familiar with occult secret societies and the link I was given to another website, all showing that some film viewers caught on to what was going on.

There are many people who are familiar with the deeper levels of the occult, some who support that kind of information as shown in the first link and others who have seen the danger in those kinds of groups. Among the former you'll find just the foolishly trendy and also others who are very antisemitic.. Few of them will post their comments on websites. I doubt any of them are following this one and if they are would be willing to post their views here given the response I received.

[dayag]

...dayag, I'm surprised you buy into the stereotype that Jews are supposed to look a certain way...

I was going by the fact that these were upper-class Brits in the 19th century, Dorothy.

[Djinn]

You know how people who earnestly believe in flying saucers tend to be the ones most likely to see them? I'm just saying.

I saw the Sherlock Holmes movie, and rather enjoyed it. It contains none of the nonsensical symbolism described in the OP. The only thing I will concede is that the "massive overly long, slow motion explosion" was, in fact, unnecessarily long.

By the way, Dorothy, I see that Javier Solana has retired. Has this had any effect on Constance's views on his identity as the anti-Christ?

[redcake]

Not to validate Dorothy any, but I've found some interviews where Ritchie is asked about Kabbalah and it's influence on the film. His answer. to paraphrase, is that they based it on the Mason's, and that the Mason's are based on Hebraic traditions.

Eh. So what.

As for Dorothy and Kabbalah.... if she likens something to witchcraft, and she likens witchcraft to satanism...what's the difference? She had previously rejected the idea that there is Jewish mysticism that is Judaic based, and that Judaism did share some thought with paganism. Differentiating between The Kabbalah and the cult of Kabballah like what's tossed around at The Kabbalah Center is a step in the right direction though.