Arts
Canadian Jewish Congress slams Lake Shore
Earlier this week, we posted the Lake Shore Sizzle Reel - a first glimpse at what has been dubbed 'Toronto's Jersey Shore'. The show's website crashed yesterday after receiving more than a million hits when the video went viral, and today, the Canadian Jewish Congress is speaking out about - and tweeting about - the racial categorizing and anti-semitic comments within the trailer.
The leaked Sizzle Reel has since been removed after a copyright claim by CBC, but the official trailer is still online - and contains the comment in question.
Sibel Atlug, who was cast as "The Turk", says at 1:33, "I'm not racist because I hate everybody equally. Especially Jewish people."
According to an interview with the National Post, CJC CEO Bernier Farber calls the move an "insensitive, purile [sic] trashy way to get attention".
Farber goes on to say that "It seems to be 'still okay' in the general sense of the term, to say how much you hate Jews, because the producers have allowed it."
He said he hopes Canadians will resist from watching if the show hits the air - but if Jersey Shore's success is any indication of what's to come, it seems that this kind of trash is what keeps us tuning in weekly.
Writing by Lauren Souch
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The reality is that the Canadian Jewish Congress did more damage by a) looking stupid b) give the show publicity c) showing that Jews are oversensitive than the clip ever could have.
Heartland!
this madness is offensively stereotypical to all cultures portrayed in it.
i'm sure that there are plenty of turks that are embarrassed about this idiot's commentary.
as the article says, based on the success of jersey shore, it only makes sense that others will want to capitalize on the potential profit from a show like this one, only they're taking it a step further by focusing on the cultures of the "characters", utilizing stereotypes (the Italian construction worker, the Eastern European sex-kitten, etc.), and really pushing the limits.
who knows, perhaps the over-the-top stupidity of the people in the show will make bigots across Canada wake up and realize how friggin stupid they all sound and (fingers crossed), create peace and harmony.
now, wouldn't that be something?!?
And then they'll always be "the doosh from the show" - when people see them at Loblaws or the beer store or beeing dooshy at some bar. Their lives are over. Yayyyy.
While some Jewish people may not be upset, the Jewish Congress has every right to be pissed. You'd never see someone saying "I hate blacks" on a Canadian television show - so why "I hate Jews"?
Also, to the morons who think this is going to be on the CBC:
a) The episodes are webisodes, they are not being aired on cable television, they are being aired online
b) Why would CBC file a copyright claim AGAINST THEIR OWN SHOW?
c) Because of the amount of Jewish CBC executives alone, they wouldn't let someone sprout antisemetic shit on their own show
Clearly this is not a CBC show, you idiots.
Was he supposed to say he liked the show?
They put out a media release about Adbusters, for example, but they are not so stupid as to do the same for this.
http://www.cjc.ca/news-releases/
Bottom line is, this show is ridiculous. Whether or not some consider this entertainment, it is feeding off ethnic bashing and stereotypes, some of which are being created solely for the purpose of "entertainment".
In reply to Jack P. - just sitting back and not watching doesn't quite solve some of the true issues here, and in many cases makes the situation even worse.
I have no problem with TV or people trying to make money off the success of "Jersey Shore" or any other show, but moving in the direction of ethnicity, nationality and religion is not the right thing to do.
I'm proud to live in a city where different cultures, nationalities, and religions are all able to strive and live together. Lets not put them against each other.
I find this quote offensive. Especially because she obviously doesn't understand the word equally.
if the jewish community is having a fit about "lake shore" (which is the lamest and dumbest leech of "jersey shore"), then the canadian cancer society should hop on the bandwagon cuz where the f* are these pasty wannabes getting their tans on?! tanning salons across toronto must be rejoicing.
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/stoplakeshoretoronto/
Yes, let's do a rip-off of some American made shit! Yay!
This is an embarassing as when Regis and what's her face came to the east coast, and the Canadian media practically jizzed all over themselves.
Do the Americans frankly care if Gordon Pinset or some other Canadian goes to the U.S.?
How about something ORIGINAL we can be proud of???
Fucking pathetic, Canada.
It's true Rob Ford can be blamed for everything, even things that happened before his birth.
If it wasn't for Rob Ford we'd still have dinosaurs and Calvin and Hobbes.
Eff you Rob Ford, eff you.
Same firestrom started with Jersey Shore.. same interest groups spoke out.. same petitions and boycotts... blahh blaah. All It did was just make MTV push the junk more and more, initially MTV only had Jersey shore on a 3-4 episode test run but the hype went through the roof and the finished off the first season, the rest is history.
CJC is full of clowns, they are always desperate for a headline, the countless examples where they out there name into childish situations just for a soundbite or headline.
Lakeshore Ave is junk, but people will watch it. The people who created it.. I give them props. They could most likely end up making even more money online if things play out the way they do. A million ppl crashing your site? Cable TV in Canada doesn't get those numbers. Hockey and the Grey Cup only touch numbers like that.
Nah. What's going to happen is that there will be so much outrage over this show that it won't air. In a few months, however, an even WORSE show will make it on TV. Just wait.
"It's true Rob Ford can be blamed for everything, even things that happened before his birth."
It is true.
Ontario Lie-berals are such sore losers that they have blamed Rob Ford for the following:
1. The ice age
2. The Crucifixion of Our Lord
3. The start of all wars
4. The HST, enviro tax, eHealth, and skyrocketing energy rates.
Wait... we can't blame Number 4 on Ford, can we?
God know the Lie-berals will try :)
"Lake Shore certainly captures part of the Toronto scene. If you've never dropped in any of those clubs in clubland, you'd meet plenty of these people. They're a fairly big part of the city."
Isn't The Lakeshore also the home to some seedy "swingers" club that local residents protested a couple of years back? I seem to remember seeing something about this on TV.
Still pissed off by the ONE BILLION DOLLARS G20... Are you?
Forget the racism crap. It's all meant by the media to piss you off. GET MAD that it's your tax dollars paying for this trash.
Just be straight up: this is trash TV, why do you have to dress it up with blatant BS like "it provokes discussion about serious issues"
Who does he think he's fooling? And why isn't anyone calling him out on this when he gets interviewed?
If she'd said black, or Pakistani, or native Canadian, it wouldn't have been funny.
But North American Jews spend so much time and energy asserting their victimhood, when they aren't victims, that the line makes me laugh.
May I interest you in a book called "The Holocaust Industry" by Norman Finkelstein? Well reviewed by The Economist, no less.
Farber goes on to say that "It seems to be 'still okay' in the general sense of the term, to say how much you hate Jews, because the producers have allowed it."
.... so the jewish congress says very rude to hate jews... Duuuuh. Haha, what the hell else are the gonna say. BTW - This is just another example of how minority groups like to bring their own old-world bullshit to the table if you let them. I'm sure the turks or whomever this girl gets her knowledge from reeally care what the Jewish congress thinks. It's not like Jew's don't hate other people either. Pot, Kettle, black.
Farber is right about one thing though, the show, like Jersey Shores is puerile entertainment.
Oh the tragic irony in using a single groups' statement about some idiotic television show to generalize so hatefully about an entire group of people. Way to validate the legitimacy of his concerns.
And if you want interesting personalities in TO, why the hell is Zanta not in this? He's classier than this crap, no doubt, but he'd make it more watchable.
"that would be pinsent, not pinset, u dickbrain. canadian and proud!!!"
That would be Canada, NOT "canada," dickwad :)
please please please don't let anybody see this. what a f&cking embarrassment.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Just think about it for a second - how many "races" there would be for each shade.
The concept of race is quite subjective and immaterial - aka mostly useless.
http://www.kenanmalik.com/essays/catalyst_racial_science.html
why is it a bigger crime to insult a jew than a chinese person (calling them all bad drivers).
jn had it bang on.
"Why is it when jewish people get attacked/insulted/anything said negative about them, it's a crime. yet when jewish people do the same to others it is ok?"
Think about how many Jewish comedians use other races as butt end of jokes in countless stand up performances and movies.
"I'm proud of this show."
Then you fit the intended demographic: individuals with an IQ 63 and under.
What the heck is Bite TV? Seriously, this is the first I've ever heard of it.
maybe you should show the clip to your bubbie and then ask her how it makes her feel.. I wonder if it will stir up some of those hart-warming nazi genocidal war memories that took her a life time to burry away...you know what i'm talking about....the ones of her family and friends all being led off to to live in concentration camps and ultimatly to the gas chamber.
the producers of this show should be charged and fined for encuraging and airing this hate message. The producers and the girl should be orderd to counseling.
its extra pathetic that not only they couldnt come up with there own idea for a show but that they actually thought that adding some racial tension of any sort would make it better.