I chose to do my paper over the documentary entitled Postville. Postville is a small town of about 1500 people in Northeast, Iowa. In fact, in this town, pigs outnumber people 4 to 1. When Orthodox Jews started moving into this quiet little town, eyebrows started to quickly rise. Immediately the town’s people started to notice all the differences between them and the “outsiders.”
Many Orthodox Jews had always dreamed of making it in a small town, rather than staying in a big city. The Jewish newcomers were not as friendly as Postville residents were expecting because they had only been exposed to the big city life where people are not as friendly. So, they did not waive when they passed someone on the street and even tried to
The saddest statement I heard in the entire film was made by a young Hispanic woman who moved to Postville with her family. She said “I wish we could just celebrate one’s heritage without having to face consequences.” To me, this statement sums is all up and says it all. Although the end of the film showed the entire community together sharing ethnic food and treasures, I saw it differently. I believe these three groups of people finally got to a point where they could “tolerate” each other, not like or embrace.
I really do not think that the locals of Postville tried to understand any of this. Therefore, there were always negative feelings toward them. I thought it was silly how they made such a big deal about the upkeep of the Jew’
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