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A Serious Man
Quinn 2022-04-21 09:01:55
In "Serious Men", from a secular perspective, the male protagonist is a somewhat weak man. His wife had an affair with someone else, asked him to divorce him, and asked him to move out, so he really moved out and moved to a hotel. When I watched it, I thought that even though I am not the kind of person with high androgen hormones, if I met a man who would at least find someone to be flattered, he even moved out by himself. This kind of self-cultivation is something that no one appreciates in this world. , they will judge you as weak, and once a man is weak, he will lose his qualifications to be a man. This is not like the animal kingdom, where the male who loses has no right to mate...
Extended Reading
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Larry Gopnik: Please. I need help. I've already talked to the other rabbis. Please. It's not about Danny's bar mitzvah - my boy Danny, this coming Shabbos, very joyous event, that's all fine. It's, it's more about myself, I've... I've had quite a bit of tsuris lately. Marital problems, professional, you name it. This is not a frivolous request. This is a ser- I'm a ser- I'm, uh, I've tried to be a serious man, you know? Tried to do right, be a member of the community, raise the- Danny, Sarah, they both go to school, Hebrew school, a good breakfast... Well, Danny goes to Hebrew school, Sarah doesn't have time, she mostly... washes her hair. Apparently there are several steps involved, but you don't have to tell Marshak that. Just tell him I need help. Please? I need *help*.
[the secretary rises, goes to the door behind her, opens it, shuffles into the dimness where she speaks quietly with the aged rabbi, who is idle. She shuffles back, closes the door and sits down]
Marshak's Secretary: The rabbi is busy.
Larry Gopnik: He didn't look busy!
Marshak's Secretary: He's thinking.
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Judith Gopnik: We shouldn't put the kids in the middle of this, Larry.
Larry Gopnik: The kids aren't...
Judith Gopnik: I'm saying "we." I'm not pointing fingers.
Larry Gopnik: No one is playing the "blame game," Larry.
Larry Gopnik: I didn't say anyone was!
Judith Gopnik: Well let's not play He said, She said, either.
Larry Gopnik: I wasn't! I-...
Sy Ableman: Aw right, well let's just step back, and defuse the situation, I find, sometimes, if I count to ten.
[pause]
Sy Ableman: One... two... three... faw... Or silently.
[Long pause]
Judith Gopnik: Really, to keep things on an even keel, especially now, leading up to Danny's bar mitzvah...
Sy Ableman: A child's bar mitzvah, Larry!
Judith Gopnik: Sy and I think it's best if you move out of the house.
Larry Gopnik: Move out?
Sy Ableman: It makes eminent sense.
Judith Gopnik: Things can't continue as they...
Larry Gopnik: Move out! Where would I go?
Sy Ableman: Well, for instance, the Jolly Roger is quite livable. Not expensive, and the rooms are eminently habitable.
Judith Gopnik: This would allow you to visit the kids.
Sy Ableman: There's convenience in its fava. There's a pool...
Larry Gopnik: Wouldn't it make more sense for you to move in with Sy?
Judith Gopnik: [Shocked pause] Larry!
Sy Ableman: Larry, you're jesting!
Judith Gopnik: Larry, there is much to accomplish before that can happen.
Sy Ableman: Larry, Larry, Larry. I think, really, the Jolly Roger is the appropriate coss of action. It has a pool.