The Jazz Singer A Jewish American Story Essay - 1853 Words

At its core, The Jazz Singer is ostensibly a Jewish-American story. The central conflict is Jakie Rabinowitz’s heritage, family, and upbringing coming to a head with his chosen career and where his heart lies: performance in an American pop cultural milieu. A reading of the film suggests that although hybridity can be found between the old and the new; the traditional and the modern; they are fundamentally in conflict with each other and cannot co-exist in their established forms: one must supersede the other. Cantor Rabinowitz is introduced with an intertitle description of his religious role in the synagogue, saying that he â€Å"stubbornly held to the ancient traditions of his race†. The adult Jakie Rabinowitz, by contrast, is introduced eating ham and eggs in a cafà © before performing two numbers in the genre forbidden to him by his father as it debases â€Å"the voice God gave him.† He has changed his name - like Al Jolson, originally born Asa Yoelson - to Jack Robin, as he announces to his parents in a letter, who show concern over his choice of partner: his father thinks she may be (which indeed she is) a shiksa, while his mother emphasises that a non-ethnic name is not indicative of heritage (or lack thereof) in the â€Å"theayter.† Quintessentially American ‘Jazz’ music and performance is diametrically opposed to â€Å"the songs of Israel.† In The Jazz Singer, Jewish culture is preserved and assimilated into American life, but Jewish ethnicity is rendered invisible in showbusiness, andShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Alan Crosland s The Jazz Singer Essay1831 Words   |  8 Pagesracial conflict counterpoised against notions of cultural hybridity. 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