Book Review: The American Jewish Story Through Cinema

Hardcover: 264 pages
Publisher: University of Texas Press (April 15, 2013)

Better late to offer my review than never!  Eric Goldman takes a look back through time in The American Jewish Story through Cinema.  It's vastly different from Larry Epstein's American Jewish Films, which seeks to find a Jewish identity in the movies.

Cinema is just like books in that it is a medium of telling a story.  Through viewing films on the big screen, we gain an understanding of the social, political, and cultural realities of the Jews in America.  It's important to understand these realities.  In an industry dominated by Jewish moguls, there were those that fought against the making of Crossfire and Gentleman's Agreement, both released in 1947, for the fear that it would increase anti-Semitic attacks.  Leave it to Darryl  F. Zanuck, a non-Jewish mogul, to produce the latter of the two films.

It's because of the Jewish filmmakers and the evolving nature of the American Jewish condition that we see just how Jews have been reflected on the screen over the years.

Goldman's analyzed a select group of mainstream films from the era of The Jazz Singer all the way through Everything is Illuminated to get an understanding of the American Jewish experience during the 20th century.

It wasn't until later years when Jewish filmmakers were comfortable with depicting an American Jew or Israel on the big screen.  Eventually, the Shoah would have a large effect on the American Jewish identity.  Nowadays, American  Jewish screenwriters, directors, and producers have shown that they are comfortable with their heritage in the number of movies that display Jewish protagonists, experiences, and challenges.

In particular, Goldman examines The Jazz Singer, Gentleman's Agreement, Crossfire, The Young Lions, The Way We Were, The Prince of Tides, Avalon, Liberty Heights, and Everything is Illuminated.


These films play a large part in American Jewish identity, where we have been, and what we ought to do better when it comes to remembering.

Like the haggadah, the traditional “telling” of the story of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt that is read at the Passover seder, cinema offers a valuable text from which to gain an understanding of the social, political, and cultural realities of Jews in America. In an industry strongly influenced by Jewish filmmakers who made and continue to make the decisions as to which films are produced, the complex and evolving nature of the American Jewish condition has had considerable impact on American cinema and, in particular, on how Jews are reflected on the screen. This groundbreaking study analyzes select mainstream films from the beginning of the sound era to today to provide an understanding of the American Jewish experience over the last century. - See more at: http://utpress.utexas.edu/index.php/books/golamr#sthash.bA9MEMqD.dpuf

Like the haggadah, the traditional “telling” of the story of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt that is read at the Passover seder, cinema offers a valuable text from which to gain an understanding of the social, political, and cultural realities of Jews in America. In an industry strongly influenced by Jewish filmmakers who made and continue to make the decisions as to which films are produced, the complex and evolving nature of the American Jewish condition has had considerable impact on American cinema and, in particular, on how Jews are reflected on the screen. This groundbreaking study analyzes select mainstream films from the beginning of the sound era to today to provide an understanding of the American Jewish experience over the last century.
In the first half of the twentieth century, Hollywood’s movie moguls, most of whom were Jewish, shied away from asserting a Jewish image on the screen for fear that they might be too closely identified with that representation. Over the next two decades, Jewish moviemakers became more comfortable with the concept of a Jewish hero and with an overpowered, yet heroic, Israel. In time, the Holocaust assumed center stage as the single event with the greatest effect on American Jewish identity. Recently, as American Jewish screenwriters, directors, and producers have become increasingly comfortable with their heritage, we are seeing an unprecedented number of movies that spotlight Jewish protagonists, experiences, and challenges.
- See more at: http://utpress.utexas.edu/index.php/books/golamr#sthash.bA9MEMqD.dpuf

Like the haggadah, the traditional “telling” of the story of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt that is read at the Passover seder, cinema offers a valuable text from which to gain an understanding of the social, political, and cultural realities of Jews in America. In an industry strongly influenced by Jewish filmmakers who made and continue to make the decisions as to which films are produced, the complex and evolving nature of the American Jewish condition has had considerable impact on American cinema and, in particular, on how Jews are reflected on the screen. This groundbreaking study analyzes select mainstream films from the beginning of the sound era to today to provide an understanding of the American Jewish experience over the last century.
In the first half of the twentieth century, Hollywood’s movie moguls, most of whom were Jewish, shied away from asserting a Jewish image on the screen for fear that they might be too closely identified with that representation. Over the next two decades, Jewish moviemakers became more comfortable with the concept of a Jewish hero and with an overpowered, yet heroic, Israel. In time, the Holocaust assumed center stage as the single event with the greatest effect on American Jewish identity. Recently, as American Jewish screenwriters, directors, and producers have become increasingly comfortable with their heritage, we are seeing an unprecedented number of movies that spotlight Jewish protagonists, experiences, and challenges.
- See more at: http://utpress.utexas.edu/index.php/books/golamr#sthash.bA9MEMqD.dpuf