Only in America
Al Jolson and The Jazz Singer
Richard Bernstein
- A
- probing
- biography
- of
- world-renowned
- Jewish
- singer
- and
- actor
- Al
- Jolson
- and
- the
- history
- of
- his
- performance
- in
- and
- the
- making
- of
- The
- Jazz
- SingerAl
- Jolson,
- born
- Asa
- Yoelson,
- immigrated
- from
- a
- shtetl
- in
- Lithuania
- to
- the
- United
- States
- in
- 1894
- after
- his
- father
- secured
- a
- job
- as
- a
- rabbi
- in
- Washington,
- D.C.
- A
- poor,
- Yiddish-speaking
- newcomer
- navigating
- a
- racially
- segregated
- and
- antisemitic
- America,
- young
- Jolson
- dreamed
- of
- becoming
- a
- star,
- and
- he
- did.
- Thanks
- to
- his
- immense
- talent
- and
- his
- knack
- for
- assimilating
- into
- new
- environments,
- by
- the
- time
- he
- reached
- his
- twenties
- he
- was
- the
- most
- famous
- and
- highly
- paid
- entertainer
- in
- America,
- making
- almost
- $5,000
- a
- week
- at
- a
- time
- when
- the
- average
- American
- made
- $800
- a
- year.
- Jolson’s
- public
- adoration
- and
- widespread
- acceptance
- as
- a
- star
- marked
- the
- beginning
- of
- an
- enriching
- cultural
- transformation,
- a
- moment
- when
- the
- American
- mind
- opened
- up
- to
- ethnic
- and
- racial
- differences,
- widening
- the
- gap
- of
- acceptability.
- And
- yet
- Jolson
- himself,
- despite
- being
- ferociously
- ambitious
- and
- gigantically
- talented,
- was
- crippled
- by
- insecurity,
- often
- nervous
- to
- the
- point
- of
- collapse,
- prisoner
- to
- his
- many
- vices.Through
- Jolson,
- Bernstein
- simultaneously
- breaks
- open
- the
- history
- and
- legacy
- of
- the
- cultural
- sensation
- The
- Jazz
- Singer.
- Not
- only
- was
- The
- Jazz
- Singer
- the
- first
- feature
- length
- film
- with
- synchronized
- music
- and
- dialogue,
- but
- it
- was
- also
- taboo
- smashing
- in
- its
- content*:
- The
- Jazz
- Singer*
- is
- all
- about
- Jews,
- Orthodox
- and
- otherwise.
- Bernstein
- expounds
- on
- the
- making
- of
- The
- Jazz
- Singer,
- what
- the
- film
- meant
- then
- and
- now,
- introducing
- the
- many
- individuals
- involved
- in
- its
- production,
- including
- Samson
- Raphaelson,
- a
- young
- Jewish
- writer
- whose
- short
- story
- was
- the
- basis
- for
- the
- movie;
- the
- four
- Warner
- brothers,
- who
- made
- a
- fortune
- off
- it;
- and
- George
- Jessel,
- Jolson’s
- rival
- and
- the
- star
- of
- Raphaelson's
- stage
- adaptation
- of
- his
- short
- story.
- In
- the
- background
- emerges
- a
- picture
- of
- old
- Hollywood
- in
- the
- Roaring
- Twenties:
- cutthroat
- and
- greedy
- yet
- visionary
- and
- progressive.
- And
- while
- The
- Jazz
- Singer
- represented
- the
- future
- in
- many
- ways,
- it
- also
- dredged
- up
- the
- worst
- of
- the
- past,
- including
- Jolson’s
- use
- of
- blackface,
- common
- at
- the
- time.At
- once
- a
- tale
- of
- the
- Judaizing
- of
- American
- culture
- and
- an
- acknowledgment
- of
- the
- challenges
- to
- come,
- Only
- in
- America
- is
- a
- glistening
- examination
- of
- a
- man
- at
- the
- center
- of
- a
- watershed
- moment
- in
- the arts.
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