OK, I'll bite. If John Cassavetes is so insanely influential and brilliant, why have I not heard about him until recently? I've been on a side-quest with classic and esoteric movies, mostly through the Criterion collection. I've watched dozens of Criterion closet picks from filmmakers and actors I admire. They pick Cassavetes films ALL THE TIME. Probably more than any other director except Scorsese. I haven't seen a single Cassavetes film. I don't think I've ever heard anyone talk about a Cassavetes film outside of those videos. I'm not a slouch on film, I've got a pretty wide spread on what I've seen & what I appreciate. How has Cassavetes slipped through that net so completely for so long?

NYT's Bret Stephens whines that Democrats know "Smotrich and Ben-Gvir" but not "the interior minister of Japan." Their "obsession" with Israel drives him "crazy." (Being politically informed on Israel is now anti-Semitic.)

Not since Republicans pretended to be outraged on behalf of Cracker Barrel Americans have they landed such a game-changing blow.

To describe Marc Chagall as anything other than a Jewish artist or to celebrate neighborhoods like Brighton Beach and Rego Park but not describe their Jewish character ​are just the latest examples of the Mayor's relentless, pathological campaign to erase Jews from the story. He does it so often that one has to assume that this is not ignorance or accidental, but a deliberate effort to normalize antisemitism and marginalize Jewish New Yorkers. It’s despicable.

why do people think this is hard to understand? it's not sufficient as a defense for a film to point out its obvious theme. which dimension of this very old and often explored question did the actual filmmaking, choice of subject, etc, help illuminate or deepen for you?