“But You Don't Look Like a Punk Rocker!”
by Liz Nord
The Commentator
November 22, 2005

“But you don’t look like a punk rocker!”
I can’t tell you how many times I have heard that phrase over the past few years.

At first it came from the punks of Tel Aviv who are the subjects of my documentary, Jericho’s Echo: Punk Rock in the Holy Land. When I showed up in the small, smoke-filled underground clubs of Israel in the practical and often unflatteringly khaki outfits that I reserve only for video shoots, the stereotypical Israeli cynicism showed up in full force. What are you doing here? G-d forbid, someone could like their music and appreciate their scene without sporting a get-up that would have been at the height of style in a London sex shop 30 years ago.

More recently, the statement has come from audience members, as I have been touring with the now completed movie. Sometimes, the question is asked in earnest, with a simple and uninflected, “How did you end up making this film?” Often, however, the question comes from an older audience member who asks it more like this, “How did (a nice girl like) YOU end up making THIS film (about these crazy young hooligans)?!”

In either case, I end up taking the other side. In Israel, I felt like shouting, “Hey! Wait a minute! Y’all are supposed to be against the status quo. You are rebelling against a mainstream society who expects you to look and act a certain way, but suddenly I have to look and act exactly like you in order to gain your trust and acceptance?” On the other hand, I come to the punks’ defense at my screenings, particularly when the question is asked with a certain distaste, as if the audience member kind of smells something funny when they say, “You don’t look like them.” After all, I made the film not only to break stereotypes about what is a typical Israeli, but also what is a typical punk rocker. Contrary to popular belief (particularly among those of a certain generation), most of the punks in my movie are bright, articulate and socially aware.

So, what do I look like? Probably a lot like an Ashkenazic mutt from upstate New York. Or, to phrase it more gently, I look like the Nice Jewish Girl that I am. I am curvy (a zaftig-in- training), with pale complexion and the trademarked wavy, brown hair. Even on my best day, I couldn’t pass for someone with clearly defined cheekbones.

Although underground music has been a big part of my life since my early teens, I never dressed “like a punk.” I’ve never had a mohawk, a tattoo, or even an unusual piercing. I’ve never sported particularly conservative wear (save for the Polo Ralph Lauren knockoff phase I went through when I befriended a blonde Republican girl in 8th grade), but I’ve never dressed particularly radically, either. I have certainly gone through fashion phases, which were always music related—the summer-camp-songs-pseudo-hippie, the ska-loving rude-girl with plaid, pleated mini-skirts, and (yikes) the baggy-pants-and-plastic-wallet-chain skate punk—but none of these has ever stuck for too long.

The one thing that has remained constant in my identity is the Jewish part. Sure, I’ve had my questions and fortunately, my religion allows for, and even encourages that. However, I haven’t tested out any other faiths. I haven’t ever described myself as merely a “cultural” Jew, or denied my Judaism to fit in socially. In fact, I swore I wouldn’t do that just as I was becoming a young Jewish adult. I was raised in a relatively small Jewish community, and so our Bar and Bat-Mitzvahs included many of our non-Jewish classmates. At one Bar Mitzvah, I was sitting next to a Jewish friend who pretended not to understand why “the book was backwards” in order to fit in with the other kids around us. That was the first time that I realized that being Jewish might be out-of-the-ordinary, and the cement began to set on my own sense of Jewish identity.

Now that the touring and festival phase of Jericho’s Echo is winding down, it is time to decide what my next big film project will be. This movie was a natural fit, given my interest in both the future of Israel and subterranean youth culture. Now I have to figure out the magic formula. What do I care enough about to spend another three years minimum working on, that is also appealing enough to a potential audience that all that work ends up being worthwhile?

At first, I didn’t want to limit myself to being known as a Jewish filmmaker. I want to make films that are broadly appealing, and I am open to exploring all kinds of stories. The more I’ve thought about it, though, it is the rich pool of Jewish stories from all over the world that seem to resonate with me again and again. Perhaps the key is to cover Jewish stories in a universal way, which is what I’ve tried to do with Jericho’s Echo. I am thankful that audiences so far have included a wide range of people, from non-Jewish, to secular, to religious.

I also realized that, it doesn’t matter whether I am covering Jewish members of the WWII resistance or African Muslim refugees in Timbuktu. I can’t help but imparting some kind of Jewish perspective on my work. After all, I am who I am. When it comes down to it, I may not look like a punk rocker, but I will always be a Jew.

For more information about Liz’s documentary, please visit http://www.jerichosecho.com