James Franco’s Bar Mitzvah

Recently, Seth Rogen held a bar mitzvah for his friend and fellow multimillionaire actor, James Franco. This bar mitzvah, although for a good cause, was commodified, thus touching upon capitalist spirituality and sexualization as well as asserting the presence of the Jewish community in Hollywood.

James Franco is an American actor, known for his roles in highly grossing films such as Spiderman (2002), Pineapple Express (2008) and most recently, the controversial film, The Interview (2014) in which he starred alongside Seth Rogen. Although his mother is of Jewish descent, he never had a bar mitzvah.

Seth Rogen is also Jewish and the founder of an Alzheimer’s awareness foundation “Hilarity for Charity”. Every year, the charity hosts an event, raising funds to support research for, as well as promote awareness of the disease. In the past, themes of the event included secular activities such as “house party” and “high school prom”. The cleverly named tickets start at $ 100 and can go up to $100 00, depending on whether the attendee is looking for a “locker room ticket” (general admission) or a “teacher’s lounge” experience (VIP). Since Franco never had a bar mitzvah, this year’s event took on the theme of the Jewish rite of passage party. Several other celebrities attended, such as Zac Efron and Bruno Mars, with headline performances by Miley Cyrus and the Haim sisters.

Traditionally, a bar mitzvah is a ceremony in which 13-year-old boys are celebrating their rite of passage to manhood. They are expected to fulfill the commandments of the Torah, regardless of whether they have a bar mitzvah ceremony or not. However, Jewish culture does consider this an important milestone, and therefore celebrations are organized. It is usually the party following the ceremony that the public is exposed to via films or television. However, there is an important synagogue ceremony that takes place, preceding the celebrations. In Franco’s case, the party was held two weeks prior to the ceremony, leaving the publicly attended bar mitzvah party to goof off and make jokes.

This example shows the commodification of the Jewish religion, in order to appeal to the public. Perhaps society has become so secular, that there is a lack of interest in others’ spirituality. As Carette and King (2011. pg 65) would suggest, this form of capitalism could be considered utilitarianism, where fellow co-workers and the audience appear to be consumers of a product who need to be persuaded. Precisely, in the case of Franco’s bar mitzvah, colleagues, and the general public need to be persuaded to attended Franco’s bar mitzvah, thus donating funds to the charity. The bar mitzvah is being merchandised by selling tickets to attendance, whereas every day bar mitzvahs do not cost anything to guests, other than perhaps gifts. Instead of creating products to be merchandised, by hosting a contest where participants are eligible to win a VIP guest pass and spend the day with the celebrities, Seth Rogan is selling his branded-self in order to increase funds. Other means were also taken in order to appeal to the masses, such as jokes about circumcision as well as performances by Miley Cyrus.

Speaking of Miley Cyrus, as per usual her attire was confusing, and definitely would have not been appropriate for a traditional religious ceremony, of any kind. She posted a photo on her Instagram feed embracing the Star of David, in a blue thong leotard. Her hair was also adorned with mini stars of David. Instagram has become a popular source of advertisement via consumerism; it is practically a self-advertising platform. This said, Miley is unintentionally inviting her fans to donate to Rogan’s charity. In another photo, she even plugs in a reference to her charity, The Happy Hippie foundation. By doing so, she is creating a socializing force (Santana, 2008. p. 57). She is attempting to appeal to her fans, who also consume her products, by “freedom of acquisition” (Santana, 2008. p. 57). As long as she is not offending the morals of society, she is therefore free to pose wearing whatever she wishes with religious symbols (Santana, 2008. p. 57).

Although she does stir some controversy regarding her actions and her attire, pro-sex feminists may argue that Cyrus is encouraging women to take control of their sexuality, liberating them from patriarchy, creating empowerment (Santana, 2008. p. 62). Ironically, she is challenging Judeo-Christian sex ideals, which promote monogamy and sex exclusively within marriage (Santana, 2008. p. 62).

Had the ceremony been censored the same way movies were until 1968, perhaps the Hayes code would have been put into effect, banning the sexualization and mockery performed during the bar mitzvah.

However, this event really emphasized the presence of the Jewish community in Hollywood. One can definitely see that the original moguls of the film industry really left their imprint on Hollywood. However, instead of avoiding their roots to embrace America (Gabler, 1988. p. 4), assimilating themselves into the country, Franco, Rogen and their peers are embracing their roots and sharing with international audiences. After having created the American Dream (Gabler, 1988. p. 4), the descendants of the Jewish founders of Hollywood are not only living it, they are preserving it.

Although the bar mitzvah held by the Jewish comedic duo had been altered to appeal to a general public, regardless of one’s faith or spirituality, it did have a positive impact on society, raising over $2.5 million for a great cause.