I believe that George Robinson’s overwrought review of “When Comedy Went To
School” undervalues the importance of historical context (“Comedy U.,” July 26).
The scholars as
well as the comedians explain the significance of the Catskills experience in
promoting acculturation. Still grappling with bicultural identities, Jewish
as well as American, we certainly appreciate the contribution of our Borscht
Belt with schmaltz and gribenes thrown in for good measure. This film clearly
reaffirms our heritage. We are, after all, the people of the joke as well as
the Book.
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