Kalie Flibbert
Dr. Baratta
HI-104-02
May 15, 2018
Fiddler on the Roof
Joseph Stein wrote the book Fiddler on Roof which is set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in 1905. It is about a Jewish father who is a peasant and a poor milkman, Tevye. He lives on a farm with his wife and children. His three daughters are at an age where they will be getting married and the other bug event that happens in this story line is that the Jews are forced off their land by a pogrom.
The movie begins with a hymn to tradition, and of course following this, Tevye's three eldest, strong-willed daughters move forward by straying from their tradition and marrying the wrong guys. None of them waited for the matchmaker; they all went off and made…show more content… Revolution is sweeping the land and we find this out because a guy shows up with a newspaper and tells the viewers about what is going on. On top of the romantics, the revolution piece continues until the end of the movie as well. The Tsar moves to evict the Jews off of their land, depriving them of everything they know and sending them into exile. As they are all walking away, the fiddler which is symbolic continues to play and I believe he is standing for unbeatable Jewish strength, tolerance and courage.
The problem that I see with this film though is that it does not appear to be set in its roots. There is nothing the specifically shouts Jewish except the costumes and decorations. Every ethnic and religious group has a special relationship with God and they express that in different ways. In their own way, everyone can be philosophical and want certain things for their kids.
On top of the marriages, the injustice and the religion, there is also plenty of song and dance to be watched. I believe it was a way to try and lighten the mood as what may have been coming off as possibly a harsh subject but it was fun to watch. You get a chorus of what seems like hundreds to back up the simple songs sung by the peasant. The way the director of the film has the cameras move, the dancing almost looks more celebratory to the
