| Gayle Kirschenbaum Wins By A Nose |
| Written by Brad Balfour | ||||
| Tuesday, 15 May 2007 09:42 | ||||
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"My Nose" will be screening Thurday, May 17th at 7 pm at the Two Boots Pioneer Theater (212-591-0434) at 155 E. 3rd, near Avenue A. The short opens a lineup entitled "Odentity: Short Films Exploring Jewish Perspectives on Selfhood and Community" which also features "Out of the Box," Slamdance-winner "Unsettled," "Broken Mirrors," and "The Tribe."
 Gayle Kirschenbaum's mom had issues with her daughter's beautiful, hawkish nose. And fortunately for us, Gayle is good at obsessing—like she did with her dog in the touchingly humorous yet poignant HBO film, "A Dog's Life: A Dogamentary." That film examined the intense bonds between dogs and humans as seen through the lens of a single woman in the city (think "Sex in the City" meets "Best in Show"); in it Kirschenbaum addressed her love for her Shih Tzu, Chelsea. This time, however, Kirschenbaum has turned the focus onto her own face. So, despite her mom's protestations, Gayle examined the act of cutting and reshaping but didn't dive in. All she did was make this short film, "My Nose," which has been making the rounds of film festivals with the hope that it will garner enough attention and interest to develop it into a feature. kirschenbaumproductions.com/mynose 
Kirschenbaum and her mother at the surgeon's office
Kirschenbaum at age 12
Kirschenbaum and legendary filmmaker Albert Maysles ("The Beales of Grey Gardens")
GK: I can't actually agree with that statement. Yes, there are some Jews that have a thing about getting rid of their ethnic nose and anglicizing it. Obviously, that was common among the Jews I grew up with on Long Island in the '70s. I do find it interesting and perhaps it's another documentary--how the physical ethnic traits that Jews are stereotyped for, such as large noses and curly hair, are often not desired and sometimes changed. I have both. Is it the wanting to look like everyone else? I think we are greatly affected by what society considers beautiful and a large hooked nose hasn't been portrayed as beauty. You have to admit there are some great schnozzes out there on celebrities such as Adrien Brody and Owen Wilson (this one I believe is not Jewish). And remember Jennifer Grey who had great success in Dirty Dancing playing a young Jewish woman and after that film she had a nose job and has claimed that destroyed her career. Q: Is the desire for a nose job a Jewish syndrome? GK: No! I learned recently that it's an obsession in Iran and if you have a nose job it's a sign of prosperity There was a recent documentary made about nose jobs in Iran. In 2005 CBS ran a story called "Iran: Nose Job Capital of World." ["Iran's strict Islamic dress code has backfired in at least one big way. Some young Iranian women are more obsessed with their appearance than their counterparts in the West. And, as CBS News Correspondent Elizabeth Palmer reports, they're lining up in record number to improve on the look nature gave them with cosmetic surgery. The most popular form of plastic surgery in America is liposuction, but in Iran, where the female form is kept largely under wraps, women prefer to spend their money where they can show it off." - May 2, 2005 CBS broadcasting.] Q: Do you think you will ever get a nose job? GK: The jury is still out on this question. I never wanted to. Some years ago I was booked for sinus surgery. I have chronic sinusitis and when I fly, if my sinuses are acting up, it could be excruciating when the plane descends. I actually ended up bursting blood vessels in my ear once. I had all the necessary tests and MRIs and I was informed that I had serious blockage and was a candidate for sinus surgery. My mother took this opportunity to jump into my nose with a full-blown campaign. "They're going to be in there anyway, you might as well have them give you a nose job!" I refused and she didn't speak to me for two weeks. I met Paul Vance, who is a songwriter, who wrote classic songs like "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini." And he joined the nose job campaign. I was weakened and flew back to LA, that's where I was living at the time. I started interviewing plastic surgeons to do the cosmetic part of the surgery. I brought in several photographs of Semitic looking noses and emphasized that I hate the look of a nose job and want to keep my Semitic look but just have the bump shaved down. They all kept saying that was no problem but they would have to lift the tip also. The surgery was booked and I found myself tossing and turning at night. In the end, I got a job, not a nose job, I was a freelance TV producer at the time, producing a TV show which ironically had me traveling all over the country. I cancelled the surgery. Didn't have the sinus or cosmetic surgery. I went to a homeopathic pharmacy in Santa Monica and bought several things to help remedy sinus problems. To get back to the question, will I have a nose job? It really depends on what else is going on in that area of my face. One last thing, I come from being a fine artist and love photography I recently got into taking pictures using my Treo phone and am working on a self-portrait series. I have to admit I now see what my mother has been talking about regarding my bump.
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