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Reviews
Seinfeld: The Pick (1992)
Brilliant Parody of Shylock's Speech from Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice
"The Pick" blurs the lines between pop culture and high art, comedy and profound cultural commentary. Jerry's spoof on Shylock's famous speech from Act 3, Scene 1 of William Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice--"do we not bleed?" raises interesting questions about the portrayal of Jewishness in popular culture, especially as connected to the Jewish stereotype of a big nose. In fact, most of the subplots in the episode have some connection to the tension between Jewish identity and the experience of Anglo culture. What is comedic on the surface gains depth in literary context, making Shakespeare's text accessible to a broader audience and demonstrating how discourse about Jewishness and cultural stereotypes is alive and well in popular media. This is a good reference: http://structureseinplay.blogspot.com/2009/06/moses-was-picker.html.