The Representation of Minorities in American Cinema

The Representation of Minorities in American Cinema

As the semester progressed and we continued learning how Latinos have been misrepresented through American cinema during the twentieth century, I began to wonder about my own heritage and how Jews were portrayed in films of the same era. I grew up learning about the various stereotypes that have been associated with Jews throughout history, but never have I explored the portrayals of Jews through film history in the United States. My curiosity led me to research Hollywood’s image of the Jew, providing me with a better understanding of the role Jews and Jewish family life have played in American Cinema from the very beginnings of film history. I was able to relate the facts about the representation of Jews in the media to what we have studied this semester about the representation of Latinos and Latinas.

Although in class we focused on the portrayals of different Latin American cultures in American film, we must realize that other minorities, social classes, and ethnic groups were mistreated by cinema as well. As Keller states, "One of the side effects of American cinema was often crushingly brutal portrayals of other races and cultures, depictions that spread to larger audiences than ever before possible around the nation and even around the globe" (Keller, 5). Overall, the American film industry felt it necessary to depict all characters but the dominant Anglo in a negative light. "In short", Keller explains, "white Americans believed in the superiority of the white race and depicted this superiority on the silver screen. Every other race was evaluated in relationship to the attainments of the white race and with respect to its approximation to the white race whic...

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...//www.grapevinevideo.com/fairbanks.htm

The Mark of Zorro. Produced by United Artists and Douglas Fairbanks Productions; directed by Fred Niblo, 1920.

Cortes, Carlos E. "Chicanas in Film: History of an Image". Rodriguez, Clara E. Latin Looks. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1998. Pp.121-139

Flying Down to Rio. Directed by Herbert Brenon. Produced by Louis Zarecky, 1932.

All Movie Guide, Dolores Del Rio.

http://www.allmovie.com/cg/x.exe?p=avg&sql=bp18330

Mexican Spitfire. Directed by Leslie Goodwins. Produced by Cliff Reid, 1939.

Erens, Patricia. The Jew in American Cinema. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1984.

Friedman, Lester D. Hollywood's Image of the Jew. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1982.

Hangin' With the Homeboys. Directed by Joseph Vasquez, 1991.

West Side Story. Directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise, 1961.