By Mónica Rubalcava
Los Angeles, US, May 18 (EFE).- The foundations of Hollywood as the global movie capital and the American ideals perpetuated in its golden era films were largely laid by the Jewish community in the United States.
This is affirmed by a new exhibition “Hollywoodland” in California that traces the Jewish origins of Hollywood.
The first permanent exhibit of its museum, opened in 2021, maintains that Hollywood was consecrated as the global cinematic capital thanks to the community of Jewish immigrants, despite the adversities of the growing antisemitism of the early 20th century.
“The history of Hollywood is a story of immigrants, of imagination, ingenuity, and overcoming obstacles based on religious and ethnic persecution. It’s a Jewish story,” says Ben Mankiewicz, the narrator of an unreleased short film that is part of the exhibition opening its doors to the public on Sunday.
The immersive exhibit explores the history of the major film studios, many of which were founded by Jewish individuals, that played a pivotal role in shaping Los Angeles into Hollywood, a symbol of the American film industry.
From filming in barns and temporary sets, studios like Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and later Paramount created the idea of studio cities, where large-scale films were produced, immortalizing the urbanistic idea of these spaces.
However, while these entertainment giants portrayed American aspirations and values with films like “The Wizard of Oz” or “Singin’ in the Rain,” the creative and executive heads of the “dream factory” were forced to hide their Jewish origins for fear of rejection and loss of their heritage.
The exhibition explains how the Jewish community found an opportunity to integrate into society in what was then a forgotten sector, where people of color, immigrants, and those with different religious beliefs had little place.
“The goal is to show the inexplicable fitting of these stories,”
exhibition curator Dara Jaffe said in a media presentation before the opening.
Using an animated tabletop map along with a large screen, visitors can see the geographical evolution of the area once inhabited by the Tongva tribes, now recognized as the epicenter of cinema.
Informative panels offer essential information about the renowned majors (Universal, Fox, Paramount, United Artists, Warner Bros., Columbia, MGM, and RKO) and their founders.
For instance, German Carl Laemmle, who founded Universal, is highlighted for his role in challenging Thomas Edison’s film monopoly.
Another example is Louis B. Mayer of MGM, who notably changed his birth date to July 4 in a gesture of patriotism.
Visitors will also discover fascinating anecdotes, such as the nickname given to the studio established by Jack and Harry Cohn and Joe Brandt: “Cohn-Brandt-Cohn,” humorously dubbed by competitors as “Corned Beef and Cabbage.”
The playful moniker prompted the founders to rebrand the studio as Columbia Pictures in 1924.
There is a critical perspective, acknowledging that the era commonly referred to as the golden age of American cinema, spanning from the 1920s to the 1950s, was characterized by oppressive control exerted by the major studios.
These studios monopolized the production, distribution, and exhibition of films, while also subjecting their artists to a framework of exclusive contracts that restricted their employment options and artistic freedoms. EFE
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