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
