Only in America: Al Jolson and The Jazz Singer
Author:
Publisher:
Schocken Books
Publication Date:
2024
Edition:
First edition
Language:
English
Description
"Al Jolson, born Asa Yoelson, immigrated from his 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 aweek 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 wasthe 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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ISBN:
9780805243673
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Grouping Information
Grouped Work ID | ae2e500f-a3e9-43cc-c751-b1282bf5c31b |
---|---|
Grouping Title | only in america al jolson and the jazz singer |
Grouping Author | richard bernstein |
Grouping Category | book |
Grouping Language | English (eng) |
Last Grouping Update | 2024-10-08 11:37:45AM |
Last Indexed | 2024-10-09 02:20:22AM |
Solr Fields
accelerated_reader_point_value
0
accelerated_reader_reading_level
0
author
Bernstein, Richard, 1944-
author_display
Bernstein, Richard
display_description
"Al Jolson, born Asa Yoelson, immigrated from his 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 aweek 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 wasthe 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"--
format_category_loveland
Books
format_loveland
Book
id
ae2e500f-a3e9-43cc-c751-b1282bf5c31b
isbn
9780805243673
itype_loveland
hardcover book
last_indexed
2024-10-09T08:20:22.106Z
lexile_score
-1
literary_form
Non Fiction
literary_form_full
Non Fiction
primary_isbn
9780805243673
publishDate
2024
publisher
Schocken Books
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
Entertainers -- United States -- Biography
Jazz singer (Motion picture : 1927)
Jewish entertainers -- United States -- Biography
Jewish singers -- United States -- Biography
Jolson, Al, -- 1886-1950
Singers -- United States -- Biography
Jazz singer (Motion picture : 1927)
Jewish entertainers -- United States -- Biography
Jewish singers -- United States -- Biography
Jolson, Al, -- 1886-1950
Singers -- United States -- Biography
title_display
Only in America : Al Jolson and The Jazz Singer
title_full
Only in America : Al Jolson and The Jazz Singer / Richard Bernstein
title_short
Only in America
title_sub
Al Jolson and The Jazz Singer
topic_facet
Entertainers
Jewish entertainers
Jewish singers
Jolson, Al
Singers
Jewish entertainers
Jewish singers
Jolson, Al
Singers
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ils:.b31320223 | .o1825732x | Longmont Public Library On Order | ON ORDER | 1 | true | false | On Order | lgnfa |
record_details
Bib Id | Format | Format Category | Edition | Language | Publisher | Publication Date | Physical Description | Abridged |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ils:.b31320223 | Book | Books | First edition | English | Schocken Books | 2024 | xv, 252 pages, contains 8 unnumbered pages of plates : photographs ; 22 cm |
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