Spielberg Calls Out the Rise of Antisemitism in New interview

Spielberg calls out the rise of antisemitism. In a new extended interview with Stephen Colbert of the Late Show, Steven Spielberg called out the rise in antisemitism. In response to a question from Colbert asking him to reflect on his own Jewish identity and the movies he has made over the years with the current rise in antisemitism in the United States and authoritarian countries around the world, Spielberg said:

“I find it very, very surprising because antisemitism has always been there. It’s either been just around the corner and slightly out of sight, but always lurking or it has been much more overt like in Germany in the 30s, but not since Germany in the 30s have I witnessed as no longer lurking, but standing proud with hands on hips like Hitler and Mussolini kind of daring us to defy it. I’ve never experienced this in my entire life, especially in this country.”

Major theme in The Fabelmans. Antisemitism is a significant theme in Spielberg’s new autobiographical coming-of-age movie The Fabelmans. Sammy Fabelman, Spielberg’s avatar, deals with various kinds and levels of antisemitism as he navigates a new school, friends, and girls alongside is love for filmmaking. The Fabelmans won two Golden Globes for Best Director and Best Motion Picture for Drama and was nominated for seven Oscars.

The causes of antisemitism. Colbert then asked Spielberg to reflect on the causes of the current rise.

“Somehow the marginalizing of people that aren’t part of some kind of a majority race is, is something that has been creeping up on us for years and years and years and somehow 2014, 2015, 2016, hate became a kind of membership to a club that has gotten more members than I ever thought was possible in America and hate and antisemitism go hand-in-hand, you can’t separate one from the other.”

Spielberg, the optimist. Lastly, Spielberg was asked to say what gives him hope that this current wave of hate will not succeed.

Always the optimist, Spielberg says: “I just think without painting a naive portrait of myself sitting here talking to you, and to quote Anne Frank, I think she’s right what she said in most people there is good, she saw good in most people, and I think at essentially at our core there is goodness and there is empathy.”

Spielberg also said in this interview and has discussed more recently that until he made Schindler’s List, he did not start to seriously come to terms with his Jewish identity. That journey continues in a full embrace of his upbringing and his Jewishness in The Fabelmans.

Note for our readers: Dara Horn has one of the best discussions on the misuse of Anne Frank’s memory. 

By Aaron Gold. Aaron Gold is a writer and the founder of The Hasmonean.

Get the latest movie reviews, news, and trailers on The Hasmonean. Stay up-to-date on the latest films and find out what’s worth watching.