Men of Israel
| Men of Israel | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Michael Lucas |
| Produced by | Michael Lucas |
| Starring | Michael Lucas, Matan Shalev, Avi Dar and Naor Tal |
| Cinematography | mr. Pam |
| Edited by | mr. Pam |
| Music by | Nekked |
| Distributed by | Lucas Distribution |
Release date | 2009 |
| Countries |  United States  Israel |
| Languages | English, Hebrew |
Men of Israel is a 2009 gay pornographic film released by the studio Lucas Entertainment. It is the first pornographic film shot on location with an all Israeli cast, and the first to feature an all-Jewish cast, which was credited as a landmark in Tablet Magazine and the Los Angeles Times.[1][2] [3] Director Michael Lucas—who is Jewish and made aliyah in 2009—undertook the film as "a bold move to promote Israeli culture and tourism" and to counterbalance biased portrayals of Israel in the mainstream media.[4][2]
Background
Director Michael Lucas was born in Soviet Russia and experienced antisemitism at an early age, which led him to form a strong connection with his Jewish identity and the state of Israel.[6] Hezbollah's attacks in the 2006 Lebanon war caused Lucas to go to Israel to entertain gay soldiers (who are allowed to serve openly in the military).[7] The trip stirred debate in Israeli society, which is pulled between the permissive, almost secular modern city of Tel Aviv; and the conservative, Ultraorthodox community centered around Jerusalem.[8][9]
Reaction
The film received wide-spread press coverage, particularly for its use of an all-Jewish, Israeli cast. Tablet magazine's Wayne Hoffman noted that Jewish porn stars like Harry Reems of Deep Throat and Ron Jeremy adopted deracinated porn names. Writing on the Los Angeles Times website, Patrick Goldstein observed that the stars of the film use plausibly Jewish and/or Israeli names, and that "whenever Jews are more open about their Jewish identity -- as the Adam Sandler, Judd Apatow and Sarah Silverman generation of comedians has been in recent years -- it sounds like a healthy development, as it would be for any minority culture."[5]
After the film's release in July 2009, Lucas wrote a letter on August 31 complaining about closeted Israeli gays to the website GoGay, Israel's largest LGBT Internet site. He wrote the letter after Israeli men "started hitting me up on the Web site, inviting me to hook up, then said they're not out.[10] They're delusional. They're cruising this Web site, benefiting from the fights of other people. They think the gay movement has nothing to do with them, that the shooting of gay youths in Tel Aviv has nothing to do with them. What reason is there to be in the closet in Israel in 2009? It's embarrassing."[10]
References
- ^ Great Exxxpectations, Wayne Hoffman, Tablet Magazine, July 21, 2009.
- ^ a b Gay-Porn Mogul Hopes to Arouse Interest in Israel, David Graham, Newsweek, September 23, 2009.
- ^ First-Ever All-Israeli Gay Porn Movie, DNA magazine, May 9, 2009.
- ^ Pornographic Stimulus Plan, Michael Kaminer, Forward, September 16, 2009.
- ^ a b 'Men of Israel' the new box-office stud?, Patrick Goldstein, The Big Picture blog, Los Angeles Times, July 22, 2009.
- ^ Gay Porn's Neocon Kingpin, James Kirchick, The New Republic via CBSNews.com, March 20, 2006.
- ^ Bunder, Leslie (August 19, 2006), "Entertaining gay Israeli troops": "Talkbacks", retrieved from www.ynetnews.com on September 5, 2006.
- ^ Bunder, Leslie (August 24, 2006), "Lucas responds", retrieved from www.somethingjewish.co.uk on September 3, 2006.
- ^ Lucas, Michael (August 23, 2006), "Dear friends and fellow Jews", retrieved from www.lucasblog.com on September 5, 2006
- ^ a b Can gay porn save Israel's image?, Michael Haminer, Haaretz, September 22, 2009.