a gentile from Boro Park
I live in Boro Park and as a gentile I find the Ultra-Orthodox culture and traditions mysterious. I always get a sense that they go out of the way to avoid anyone not like themselves as much as possible to a point they come off as being socially aloof and at times rude. But if you go to another part of Brooklyn, Avenue J, you'll find the Jews there are more friendlier and polite. Well they are Orthodox, not Ultra-Orthodox so I don't know that has something to do with it. Some days I look outside my window and I often see the Chassids having a special day to celebrate, so I envy them for their tight-knit community. But there are always the darker half in any kind of community, religious or secular. I can see a Sonia in both the women and men in Boro Park. My husband's friend who is a limo driver had a sexual affair with a married Chassid woman. Like Sonia, she wanted to be treated like a woman. This her husband can not offer. One time I was approached by a married Chassid man who pestered me for a date. He thought I was a hooker. I had no idea what gave him that idea. I was in baggy clothes. Last month an elderly man well into his 70s asked for my phone number. He thought I was a naive 16 year old, but I am 32.
If there are any Ultra-Orthodox or just Orthodox Jews from Brooklyn, I'd like to listen to your opinion about gentiles and what parts of the movie are true for you.