THIS WEEK
Women TV leads are knocking it out of the park right now (see above!) and add this week’s debut of Mrs. America starring Cate Blanchett. Middle-age? Cowabunga! This gorgeous poem for #PoetryMonth. Beatbox tutorial — because didn’t you always want to learn? Just a whole bunch of comfy robes. “He ran a record store in the ‘90s…” Say no more. Unexpected movie masterpieces to watch right now. Essential pandemic parenting piece, whether you have kids or not. We swooned at this father-daughter Mad World duet. Blonde at 20: Joyce Carol Oates in conversation. Activist Dolores Huerta turns 90. Are you a Ramona or Beezus? Frank talks with women entrepreneurs. “Best of Times” in the worst of times.
(Photo: top row left: Kerry Washington in Little Fires Everywhere, Merritt Wever in Run, Issa Rae in Insecure; bottom row left: Laura Linney in Ozark, Cate Blanchett in Mrs. America, Sandra Oh in Killing Eve.)
OBSESSED: Ultra-Orthodox TV Dramas
Shira Haas as Esther “Esty” Shapiro in Unorthodox on Netflix
These days, I'm obsessed with two spellbinding shows that open a window into the insular world of ultra-Orthodox Jews. First came Shtisel, which focuses on an extended Israeli family. And now there’s another Netflix standout, Unorthodox, based loosely on a best-selling memoir by Deborah Feldman about how she fled her Hasidic roots in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Both star the amazing Israeli actress Shira Haas.
These ultra-Orthodox Jews are incredibly insular, hiding as much of their lives from outsiders as possible, despite the fact that their garb makes them easily identifiable. They've cut themselves off the rest of the modern world, avoiding interaction with those outside the community. They don’t have smartphones or the internet.
I was raised in a conservative Jewish home but much of this culture is as foreign and fascinating to me as it would be to a non-Jew. As a feminist, I have been especially upset by the way women are relegated to second-class status; they don't receive a full secular education and are married off through arranged marriages at a young age, expected to have a brood of children. Once married, they must cover their hair — if it hasn’t been shaved off — with wigs or scarves and dress modestly, with long skirts and thick stockings, so as not to “tempt” men. They are considered “unclean” for two weeks out of the month around the time of their menstrual cycles and must go to the mikvah bath to cleanse themselves so they can make themselves sexually available to their husbands again.
As someone who believes in gender equality, all of this is anathema to me. From my point of view, the women are in bondage and, to some degree, so are the men — they, too, have strict societal expectations placed upon them. And so I watch both Shtisel and Unorthodox, obsessed, as I root for the characters to break free of the roles they’ve been forced to play.
— Beth Arky
TUENIGHT 10: Katie Rosman
Katie strikes a yogic pose. (Photo provided by Katie Rosman)
Age: 48
Quick bio: Katie is a reporter for the New York Times. As she puts it, she's "in the business of knowing other people's business." Like many reporters, Katie's usual features beat has shifted to covering COVID-19 — she wrote about the outbreak in Seattle and shared tips for staying sane through the crisis. Katie is also the author of the memoir, If You Knew Suzy. And she’s started making these wonderful, hand-stitched dinner napkins.
Beyond the Bio: “I'm worried. I'm bored. I'm wearing sweatpants for the 23rd consecutive day. But I'm also very grateful because I'm healthy, I'm employed and I'm privileged beyond description. My goal each day is to stay connected to the gratitude. But it takes work because, basically, my anxiety's got anxiety.”
What makes you a grown-ass lady? “Not apologizing for what I shouldn't be sorry for, and being the first to say sorry when I fuck up.”
1. On the nightstand: Separation Anxiety by Laura Zigman. Hand sanitizer.
2. Can't stop/won't stop: Diet Coke
3. Jam of the minute: "Ain't No Man" by Angaleena Presley
4. Thing I miss: Walking out the front door.
5. ’80s crush: Jake Ryan
6. Current crush: Kendall Roy
7. Latest fave find: Audio books
8. Last thing you lost: I never lose anything, I just don't know where anything is.
9. Best thing that happened recently: My friend Josh Wortman survived severe COVID-19 and is now back home with his family.
10. Looking forward to: Flattening the curve.
STORY: Finding Equilibrium When You Both Need Care
By Issa Mas
“My jaw clenches as he yells at me from less than two feet away about a video game character’s ability to perform some amazing feat I immediately tune out, despite the loudness of the words being drilled into my head. He’s woken up far earlier than usual, and the things I needed to do to make sure that I am taking care of myself before he gets up are forcefully blown into the wind, like someone else’s heartfelt desires against dandelion seeds…”
EVENT: Grown-Ass Lady Bedtime Stories
Our next readers — sign up here. Or go to the TueNight Facebook page at 8pm.
Wednesday, 4/15, 8pm: Issa Mas reads “Finding Equilibrium: When You Both Need Care”
Thursday, 4/16, 8pm: Kim O’Donnel reads “Hit the Dirt: Digging My Way Out of Loneliness”
Monday, 4/20, 8pm: Susan McPherson reads “How I Officially Became a Middle-Aged Badass in the Finnish Arctic”
One More Thing…
Shameless smiles. “Before and After “Good Boy!” — a photo series on Facebook guaranteed to make you grin.