Purim, the Oscars and the Hollywood Ending

This weekend, Jews around the world will be celebrating the fun-filled holiday of Purim. We will eat, drink, dress up and play make-believe. We will commemorate a special story, a drama with plot twists and heroes and thankfully a happy ending. Seemingly similar activities will be happening in Hollywood that day.

For the most part, we put the outside world on hold when we enter the sphere of our holidays. Whether it’s observing last year’s Shavuos on Memorial Day, or missing the baseball playoffs that typically fall out over the high holidays, we know what truly takes priority. With every holiday falling out “early” this year, I was surprised to find out actually how early. I had already heard about how Rosh Hashana is on Labor Day and that Chanukah falls out on Thanksgiving, but I just realized that one of my favorite events, the Oscars, fall out on Sunday night, Shushan Purim. The Oscars may not exactly be a national holiday, but if you compare the event to the pinnacle of the football season, the Superbowl, you get where the comparison can be made by those who enjoy movies as much as sports.

The Oscars, formally known as the Academy Awards, recognizes motion pictures and the people who bring them to life. Actors, writers, producers, costume and set designers all have the chance for recognition by the Academy of Motion Pictures. There are usually a variety of films nominated for best picture. There is typically a documentary or period piece and one or two smaller studio films that many haven’t seen by many. There are different ways to be noteworthy. Costumes, exotic locales, difficult subject matter and having the actors be able to portray and deliver those ideas to the viewers is what makes the voters, typically older Hollywood actors, vote.

Every year I look forward to Oscar Night. I even get caught up in all the “pre-game” hype – the predictions, the favorites, etc. I have seen and enjoyed quite a few of the movies that are nominated for best picture. The stories this year, and in most years, have discussed difficult topics, been shot in faraway locations, and deal with serious psychological issues. Two of the top contenders deal with battling and overcoming terrorism, in the same region as the Purim events unfolded. My favorites this year, and every year, have always had one thing in common - the Hollywood ending.

The Hollywood ending is the term to describe having the conflicts resolved at the end of the story line. Watching the characters’ ups and downs, trials and tribulations, with bad guys chasing good guys, and even rocky romances, all seem to be worth it in the end. Although the many “Walking Dead” fans may feel differently, I personally don’t enjoy the experience of sitting and watching terror or conflict without the reward of a satisfying resolution. I root for the Hollywood ending.

There are those who criticize the Hollywood and the Hollywood ending since it has been the cause of many unrealistic expectations in the home life. Having actors read well thought-out prewritten lines and seeing hair and makeup done flawlessly can lead to the frustration that life isn’t always the fantasy that we enjoy on screen. We also know that unfortunately many of the players there are not role models, as the athletes on our favorite teams often aren’t. The pushing of thematic boundaries, as in all aspects of pop-culture, is antithetical to many of our values. What positive lessons can be drawn from Hollywood and the Oscars?

Other than the significance of the biblical story of Esther and Mordechai to our Jewish faith and history, we can also appreciate the story line of Purim - the drama, the royal characters and, of course, the happy ending. The tale of the reluctant heroine, Esther, risking her life to save her people from a tyrant is epic. It has been a rich source of material for many school productions and always makes it easy to keep children engaged and entertained during the holiday. With the role of G-d hidden in this story, the tale evolves and flows as if it were written by a creative screenwriter, but in actuality it is G-d being the ultimate executive producer.

So is there actually any true connection to be made between Hollywood and Purim? If you examine Hollywood’s history you may see that there is a history, perhaps even a symbiosis, there. In an interview with award-winning Hollywood writer and orthodox Jew, David Sacks, he spoke about the idea that Hollywood endings were a Jewish creation. The original studios were established and built by Jews. In the early years of Hollywood, movie producers, holding on to their Jewish roots while living and portraying the “American Dream”, developed the film industry. They may not have been religiously connected to G-d, but their collective cultural consciousness was guiding them.

We want to live our lives with purpose, always trying to find meaning in the tragedy, knowing that in one way or another, everything will turn out alright in the end. Even when there is tragedy, we are programmed to find the “Silver Linings Playbook”. Whether it’s with G-d’s help or from the mind of a script writer, the cliché of “happily ever after” is our ideal. We root for the downtrodden and hope to witness the triumph of good over evil. How much more can it be displayed than in our story of Purim, where the players and plots all come together to portray the downfall of the Haman and highlight the heroic actions of Mordechai and Esther?

Shakespeare wrote tragedies, modern writers create all kinds of mind-blowing scenarios, but it seems the Jews may have established the element of the happy Hollywood ending onto the silver screen and into our psyche.

To those who enjoy a good tear-jerker or count the minutes until the next episode of the “Walking Dead”, continue to enjoy your pastime and appreciate that it’s all make-believe. This weekend, I am looking forward to enjoying the holiday with the family, celebrating friends’ bar mitzvahs, and eventually sitting down to catch the recorded show late at night or the next day. And if the winner is “Les Miserable”, I will still enjoy the show. Most of all, I will enjoy the real-life celebration of Purim, the happy ending and the commemoration of the Jewish people being saved from the hands of the bad guys.