The songs of Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, and Rebecca (Bunch)

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe use of song is a key feature of the innovative television musical dramedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (CXG). This article compares the interjection of songs in CXG and in biblical narratives. It highlights aspects of embedded song pertaining to (un)reality, imagination, canon, and social consciousness. The analysis pairs three biblical women’s songs with songs from Season 1 of CXG: Miriam’s Song of the Sea (Exod 15) with “Flooded with Justice”; Deborah’s victory song (Judges 5) with “Women Gotta Stick Together”; and Hannah’s prayer (1 Sam 2) with “JAP Battle Rap.” The socio-literary and cultural textual analysis is informed by feminist studies and adapts the critical approaches of “reciprocal illumination” and “weak comparison” from contemporary religious studies. By examining Rachel Bloom’s edgy and jarring appropriation of a pop-cultural artistic convention together with the ancient practice of embedding songs in the Hebrew Bible, I hope to deepen insights gained from both of the comparanda, particularly regarding the construction and consciousness of one's Self and Others.