Synopses & Reviews
Entertaining America is a captivating look at one of the longest-running and most provocative public discussions in America: the relationship between the nation's Jews and its entertainment media. This colorfully written, lavishly illustrated book surveys how Jews have participated in--and been identified with--American movies, radio, and television from the nickelodeon era at the turn of the twentieth century to the present day.
Throughout, the tone is lively, the design is playful, and key points are visually enhanced by stills, publicity photos, and memorabilia. This anthology of original analyses and primary texts covers a wide range of topics, including the multiple versions of The Jazz Singer, the saga of the Hollywood movie moguls, the irrepressible Goldbergs of radio and television fame, the representation of the Holocaust, how Charlie Chaplin and other non-Jewish stars became "virtual Jews," and the dazzling success of the television series Seinfeld. There is also an illustrated gallery of more than twenty Jewish-American stars from Theda Bara to Adam Sandler.
The principal authors, J. Hoberman and Jeffrey Shandler, examine not only the history of Jews in the industry but also the steady stream of richly varied voices that have had something to say about this history--in fan magazines as well as literary fiction, by religious and political leaders as well as journalists, historians, and Jews in the entertainment business themselves.
Entertaining America, which accompanies an exhibition opening at The Jewish Museum, is itself tremendously entertaining while providing the most expansive, authoritative look at this fascinating subject. In its pages, readers will find ample material to help them formulate their own responses to this frank, contentious, multilayered discussion.
EXHIBITION SCHEDULE
The Jewish Museum, New York
February 21 - September 14, 2003
The Jewish Museum of Maryland, Baltimore
October 16, 2003 - January 18, 2004
Review
"A thought-provoking read." Grace Glueck, The New York Times
Review
"Entertaining America...is very good, and subtle, on this subject. It demonstrates that Jewishness was one of the givens of early movies and broadcasting not exactly flaunted but not entirely avoided either." Richard Schickel, Los Angeles Times
Review
"A sumptuous read and a visual treat." Library Journal
Review
"Entertaining America brings together in a single volume, as does no other existing work, not only a wide range of questions about the role of Jews in the American entertainment media but valuable new insights and perspectives on both familiar and little-known aspects of its central theme. It is itself entertaining as well as informative. Accessible, well written, always sound and often original in scholarship, it will reach a wide readership beyond those who attend the exhibition, and will certainly be useful in courses that explore the role of Jews in popular culture and entertainment." Robert Sklar, author of A World History of Film
Synopsis
Entertaining America is a captivating look at one of the longest-running and most provocative public discussions in America: the relationship between the nation's Jews and its entertainment media. This colorfully written, lavishly illustrated book surveys how Jews have participated in and been identified with American movies, radio, and television from the nickelodeon era at the turn of the twentieth century to the present day.
Synopsis
Entertaining America is a captivating look at one of the longest-running and most provocative public discussions in America: the relationship between the nation's Jews and its entertainment media. This colorfully written, lavishly illustrated book surveys how Jews have participated in and been identified with American movies, radio, and television from the nickelodeon era at the turn of the twentieth century to the present day.
Throughout, the tone is lively, the design is playful, and key points are visually enhanced by stills, publicity photos, and memorabilia. This anthology of original analyses and primary texts covers a wide range of topics, including the multiple versions of The Jazz Singer, the saga of the Hollywood movie moguls, the irrepressible Goldbergs of radio and television fame, the representation of the Holocaust, how Charlie Chaplin and other non-Jewish stars became "virtual Jews," and the dazzling success of the television series Seinfeld. There is also an illustrated gallery of more than twenty Jewish-American stars from Theda Bara to Adam Sandler.
The principal authors, J. Hoberman and Jeffrey Shandler, examine not only the history of Jews in the industry but also the steady stream of richly varied voices that have had something to say about this history in fan magazines as well as literary fiction, by religious and political leaders as well as journalists, historians, and Jews in the entertainment business themselves.
Entertaining America, which accompanies an exhibition opening at The Jewish Museum, is itself tremendously entertaining while providing the most expansive, authoritative look at this fascinating subject. In its pages, readers will find ample material to help them formulate their own responses to this frank, contentious, multilayered discussion.
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 316-319) and index.
Synopsis
"Entertaining America brings together in a single volume, as does no other existing work, not only a wide range of questions about the role of Jews in the American entertainment media but valuable new insights and perspectives on both familiar and little-known aspects of its central theme. It is itself entertaining as well as informative. Accessible, well written, always sound and often original in scholarship, it will reach a wide readership beyond those who attend the exhibition, and will certainly be useful in courses that explore the role of Jews in popular culture and entertainment."--Robert Sklar, author of A World History of Film
About the Author
J. Hoberman is the senior film critic for
The Village Voice and an adjunct professor of film at Cooper Union. His books include
Bridge of Light: Yiddish Film between Two Worlds and
The Red Atlantis: Communist Culture in the Absence of Communism.
Jeffrey Shandler is Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies at Rutgers University. He is the author of While America Watches: Televising the Holocaust.
Table of Contents
Foreword /Joan Rosenbaum --Introduction:Entertaining "Entertaining America" /J. Hoberman, Jeffrey Shandler --NICKELODEON NATION: --Introduction /J. Hoberman, Jeffrey Shandler --Nicklodeon boom in Manhattan /Ben Singer --Charles Steiner and the Houston Hippodrome /Judith Thissen --First "Jewish" superstar: Charlie Chaplin /J. Hoberman --Virtually Jewish /J. Hoberman, Jeffrey Shandler --MOGULDOM: --Introduction ;Hollywood's Jewish question /J. Hoberman, Jeffrey Shandler --On The jazz singer ; Thejazz singer: a chronology /J. Hoberman --Putting blackface in its place /Mark Slobin --AN AMERICAN AT HOME, A JEW ON THE AIR: --Introduction ;Media that "speak your language": American Yiddish radio and film /J. Hoberman, Jeffrey Shandler --Goldberg variations: the achievements of Gertrude Berg /Donald Weber --Goldbergs: a chronology /J. Hoberman --Religion, democracy, and radio waves: the eternal light /Jeffrey Shandler --Our show of shows /J. Hoberman, Jeffrey Shandler --STAR GALLERY: --Introduction /J. Hoberman, Jeffrey Shandler --Theda Bara ;Bronco Billy Anderson /J. Hoberman --Fanny Brice /J. Hoberman, Jeffrey Shandler --Eddie Cantor ;Sylvia Sidney /J. Hoberman --Marx Brothers /J. Hoberman, Jeffrey Shandler --Betty Boop /Amelia S. Holberg --Superman /J. Hoberman --Bess Myerson /J. Hoberman, Jeffrey Shandler --Paul Muni /Moyshe Krishtol --Judy Holliday /J. Hoberman --John Garfield /Samuel J. Rosenthal --Shelley Winters /J. Hoberman --Danny Kaye /Michael Bronski --Marilyn Monroe /Susan Wender --Sammy Davis, Jr. /Maurice Berger --Anne Frank /Jeffrey Shandler --Barbra Streisand /Rhonda Lieberman --Dustin Hoffman /J. Hoberman --Roseanne /David Marc --Howard Stern /Mel Gordon --Adam Sandler /J. Hoberman --STAND-UP JEWS: --Introduction /J. Hoberman, Jeffrey Shandler --Exodus: real to reel to real /Deborah Dash Moore --Flaunting it: the rise and fall of Hollywood's "nice" Jewish (bad) boys /J. Hoberman --At home on the small screen: television's New York Jews ;American media and the Holocaust ;Virtual Rebbe /Jeffrey Shandler --Bill Clinton, Hollywood president: a chronology /J. Hoberman --Not the last word: a conversation /J. Hoberman, Jeffrey Shandler