How Al Jolson helped to remake America
A new biography from Richard Bernstein explores the meteoric success of the Jewish performer, while confronting the reviled practice of blackface that made Jolson a star
The Jazz Singer
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Film & TV A (Not-So) Brief History of Every Jewish Ritual Ever Seen On Film Or TV
I had unconsciously trained myself, as an observant Jew living among other observant Jews, to watch all television at a remove. McDonald’s ads didn’t affect me; the sandwiches on screen barely registered as food. I wore a yarmulke, but had no expectation that anyone on screen would do the same. I identified with characters and…
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Opinion Songs to Atone By: Dylan, Jolson, Streisand, Oysher
As we approach the holiest day of the year, I’ve put together a selection of songs that sum up the day and capture its spirit, at least for me. I’ve tried to follow the order of the day, from the introductory prayer to Kol Nidre, the Maariv service, some highlights of Mussaf, the Jonah story…
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Culture Retelling Jewish American Story Through History of Cinema
● The American Jewish Story Through Cinema By Eric A. Goldman University of Texas Press, 264 pages, $55. Eric A. Goldman’s look at about a dozen Hollywood movies released between 1927 and 2009 can be recommended especially to readers who don’t flinch when they ponder his book’s title. For me, the very notion of postulating…
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Film & TV Yom Kippur on the Big Screen
Would you shut up? I’m trying to atone!” That line comes in the opening scene of “Kissing Jessica Stein” delivered by the titular character, as she sits in the pews on Yom Kippur and tries to fend off her relatives’ too-eager advice about snagging a man before next year’s Book of Life is shut. Jessica,…
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