Yidl in the Middle: Growing Up Jewish in Iowa (1999)
Yidl in the Middle: Growing Up Jewish in Iowa(Directed by Marlene Booth,1999) Currently residing in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Marlene Booth found herself irritated at explaining to skeptical acquaintances that--no kidding--she was actually a Jewish Iowan. She also wanted to better understand her roots in Des Moines during the 1950s and 1960s. Her film is a compilation of snapshots, home movies, and interviews that reflect her happy childhood in Iowa but also her family's status as cultural outsiders in homogenous Iowa. She tells no tales of horror, but sadly recounts tales of slights, exclusions, and unwelcome ham served to Jewish women at a luncheon. Several controversies arose in Des Moines about whether the film was fair and whether it should be hosted by particular groups.
Marty Knepper Morningside College knepper@morningside.edu & John Shelton Lawrence Morningside College j.shelton.1@gmail.com
