Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Popular Representations Of Jewish Identity On Primetime Television: The Case Of The O.C., Tamara Olson

Media and Cultural Studies Honors Projects

Relying on a close reading of the primetime television soap opera The O.C., this thesis argues that Jewish identity on television has become perfectly compatible with normative Whiteness. While The O.C. is filled with signifiers of Jewishness, they are cultural rather than religious and are celebrated rather than rejected by WASPs. This analysis highlights the way Jews have been transformed from racialized “Others” in popular culture to Whites who embrace Jewish cultural styles, especially Jewish humor.