Is Mel Brooks Also Among the Prophets?
with Mark Leuchter (Temple University)
Tuesday March 11 2025 • 314 Royce Hall • 4 PM
Etta and Milton Leve Scholar in Residence
Jewish tradition is a cornerstone of Mel Brooks' films in both explicit and implicit ways. An example of the latter is a moment in his 1974 film Blazing Saddles that uses the trope "the People of the Land" found throughout classical Jewish discourse and early rabbinic literature with biblical origins. Brooks' use of this trope has very strong points of contact with the prophetic literature of the Hebrew Bible which also engages this language for humorous purposes. But the humor in the prophetic texts is deployed not for laughs but for shock value presenting audiences with a radically different understanding of what "the People of the Land" had come to mean by their day. In a subtle way Brooks' use of the term does the same. So...is Mel Brooks also among the prophets?
Mark Leuchter is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Judaism and Director of Jewish Studies at Temple University in Philadelphia. His publications include An Empire Far And Wide: The Achaemenid Dynastic Myth and Jewish Scribes in the Late Persian Period (Oxford University Press 2024) and The Levites and the Boundaries of Israelite Identity (Oxford University Press 2017). He is one of the editors of the New Oxford Bible Commentary an executive board member of the Canadian Society for Biblical Studies and contributes regular op-eds to Religion Dispatches Smerconish.com and other public facing venues. His favorite band is Rush.
While this event is free and open to the public we do ask that you register at least 2 business days prior to the event. Please be sure to check the Leve Center website for any updated event information.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Royce Hall, 10745 Dickson Ct, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States, Beverly Hills
