cultures and divisions in terms of our skin colour, mode of dressing or religion
The society comprises of different cultures and divisions in terms of our skin colour, mode of dressing or religion will always play a significant part of our identities are defined. Smurfette’s Roots by Rachel Klein explores the idea of otherness in how society is tailored to judge and behave towards a specific community. The author examines how smurfs have been used to depicts the identity of Jewish Women and sexualize them because of their distinct physical stature. The smurfs which were brunette and had a long nose were used to illustrate a person who has come to destroy the male-population of the male smurfs and bring chaos to the community (Klein). According to the author, the “evil brunette” was used to sexualize the Jewish women living in Europe because they attracted men by casting some form of a spell. The idea behind the smurfs was to create a sense of “others” because some people claimed that the Jews was in fact, not white. The desire to create “others” was used in golem to explain the assumptions people had about the women are all brunette who is evil and dangerous and portray some ability in seducing men to do things for them.
The smurf physical identity correlates with how the Jewish community, especially women, still face sexual harassment because of their physical looks. The creation of a line between the good and evil in the community and the negative energy being channelled in a particular community forces it comes up with new tactics and defence mechanism. Jewish women have been able to stand up for what they believe, and they are always bold, which intimidates men who sought to sexualization as a way of diminishing their worth. Similar to The Golem of Prague, we see the Jewish community facing oppression and discrimination, and Maharal seeks God’s intervention, and he is instructed to create a golem which will protect all the jews from suffering such as blood accusations during the Passover. According to Ausubel, Maharal was asked to create a golem out of clay that would unleash terror to the enemies of Israel (7). The Jews had decided to employ a spiritual tactic in dealing with the increasing suffering they were facing because of their religious beliefs. The environment of “others” had been created in Prague. The local community had put sanctions on the activities of immigrants Jews who had come from different parts of the world. The issue of identity had played a significant role in defining the creation of Joseph, which was the name given to the golem that surveilled the Jews Ghetto at night to ensure that no jew as harmed. In society, people find distinction no matter how passive to include the feeling of “the other” and looking at these two instances of segregation and sexualization of the Jewish community we see how these minorities shape new ways to protect self from societal prejudices. The false blood accusations had emerged as a way of reminding the Jews in Prague that they were different from the local people and did not enjoy the same freedom. The “otherness” is created with the sole purpose of oppressing the minorities, and the Jews women and the whole community has suffered so much in Europeans countries just because of their beliefs and distinctive physical look.
Moreover, we see different tactics have been used in Smurfette’s Roots and the Golem of Prague. In *”Smurfette’s Roots, “As Jewish women, our “whiteness” and “otherness” are part and parcel, conjoined sources of both titillation and trickery” (Klein). According to the author, the feeling of being placed in an absolute vacuum that is not similar to other people4 in society has led to the validation of sexual assault on the body of Jewish women. The bodies of Jewish women have been seen in the context of triggering male darkest sexual desires which have placed the women as “others” in the society. Maharal is concerned with the rise of accusations and suffering of Jews, and he decides to create a golem to protect his people. Smurf and golems play as a symbol of how society is structured in depicting the attitude and assumptions towards particular individuals and groups. The “otherness” provides an avenue for the minority groups to come up with strategies and tactics in protecting themselves and their communities. Historically, our culture and physical identity have been the reason for the creation of “otherness” in the society but acknowledging we relate so much than we differ will be critical in shunning away from the stereotyping narrative.