Jewish Perspectives on Horror

Jewish contributions to American culture typically highlight music, literature, and comedy, while the genre of horror often goes overlooked. Interestingly, prominent Jewish filmmakers like Ari Aster and Steven Spielberg seldom explore horror within the context of American Jewish life, largely because recent Jewish history carries its own inherent horrors. This reluctance is contrasted by the film 'The Pawn Broker,' which presents a powerful exploration of trauma through its protagonist, Saul Nazerman, a Holocaust survivor. The film uses the subway as a haunting metaphor, linking Nazerman's present-day struggles to his traumatic memories, creating an unsettling blending of the past and present.