Headscratchers / You Don't Mess with the Zohan

• Space Whale Asop seems a little off to me. I don't think the moral was that the Arab Israeli Conflict could only be solved by everyone moving to America. It seemed more geared toward "We're not so different and if we put our past behind us and just did what we want to do instead of what our past tells us to do, (the metaphor with Zohan and Fatoosh's parents)we could get along just fine."
• The scene near the beginning where Zohan tells his parents he wants to be a hairdresser. I was literally at the fridge when I realized that no true Jewish parent would EVER mock their own child like that. I suppose it's a stupid thing to nitpick about, but it bugged me because a lot of the humour in the movie comes from Jewish and Arab stereotypes.
  • Holy shit you're right. Sure, Israel's a different culture, but no Jewish parent would make fun of their child for wanting to go into a respected profession (and no Israeli parent would make fun of their kid wanting to leave the army... it's an important job but being a soldier kind of sucks).
    • This Jewish Israeli troper would like to let you know that it's a lot more complicated than you think. Serving in a position like Zohan's is an honor, and being in the army is something you're simply expected to do. Men are under tremendous pressure to be in a "meaningful"/"real"/"manly" position, and not wanting to join the army is somewhat of a taboo. So no, you can't really say "being a soldier kind of sucks" in Israel, and although obviously different people have various opinions, it's highly logical for Zohan's parents to react the way they did.
    • Zohan is different from everyone else, why would his parents not also be different!
  • You simply cannot say that "no one of group X would ever..." It's never, never true. There are jerks everywhere, among Jewish parents just as surely as everywhere else.
    • Sorry, poor choice of phrasing on my part; I was referring to stereotypes rather than how people act in Real Life. It just seemed weird that they'd poke fun at so many other stereotypes but leave out that one, since it's so prevalent.
    • The stereotype is that Jewish parents are nagging to the point of passive-aggressive about things they don't approve of in their children, taking real long guilt trips in the process.. so perhaps what we saw on screen was just how it feels.
  • Actually, this Jewish Israeli troper would have probably been drawn, quartered and staked if her parents even imagined her to want a profession that does not require a university degree (you either have a masters in something- preferably usefull, difficult and earning you a stable job with a great paycheck, or you're nothing). So in this respect, they had the parents down perfectly.
    • This troper is also Jewish Israeli and agrees completely. This troper study Psychology at the university and still getting crucified because this is "not practical enough". But at least it's an university...
  • Any and all parents have the potential to mock their child. Jewish parents aren't special about that. And I dunno about hairstyle being a 'respected profession' as one commenter said, but more importantly, hairstyling is absolutely seen as a feminine occupation, especially when this movie came out. So it's also a sense of 'Oh you want to be a hairdresser? Yeah, why don't you become a nurse, or a secretary?' sexism there.
• So how did Zohan get into the plane after he faked his death?
  • Rule of Funny?

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