The Jewish Americans DVD Credits:

Region: 0

The Jewish Americans DVD Release Date: 5th February 2008

Our Rating: Extras Rating:

User Rating:  Log in to rate this DVD

The Jewish Americans DVD Review:

The Jewish Americans is much like other PBS documentaries: long, lacking any sort of flashy graphics you see in some of the more bogus History Channel documentaries, and most of all, dripping with historical context and information. These are the kinds of documentaries that high school students are shown in their classrooms and either fall asleep or complain about how boring they are. This fact makes me like these documentaries even more, because, more often than not, the kids that complain and do not fall asleep, most likely still learn something, if they have been paying enough attention to complain about it. Essentially, we are taken through 350 years of Jewish ancestry, a long span of time needless to say, and trace the histories of the Jews and the prejudices they have had to overcome. It is typical, but how else are you to accurately portray a people coming to a new land? Claim they didn’t have hardships? The film contains equal parts the stories of those who had to come to America and stories of those born in America. The stories of those born in America are comprised of interviews, with prominent Jews including Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Tony Kushner, and Jerry Stiller. The interviews are framed within the context of the historical facts, so these prominent Jews don’t just speak of their experience. Rather, every person interviewed has something to say about Jewish identity. This overreaching historical context provides many interesting facts about an America, that unbeknownst to most people, has been created thanks to the Jewish people. This is where the documentary is at its strongest.
Among the documentary’s fascinating facts that it unleashes with surprising restraint, are the facts that the Jews have contributed to much, very much of American popular culture. It’s amazing to know that most of the Christmas songs we know were written by Jews, most notably Irving Berlin, who wrote White Christmas, and had a secular tone. He also wrote God Bless America. If more Americans knew this, perhaps many infantile anti-Semitic arguments would halt. It becomes even more interesting when it mentions the film industry, and how many of those wholesome down to earth American films with Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney were actually written and produced by Jews, such as the Warner brothers, etc. What is even more interesting is the inclusion of its information on how so many film stars like Kirk Douglas, Edward G, Robinson and ton Curtis were Jews that had changed their names. So surprisingly enough, it confirms many of the stereotypes of Jews in the film industry, but showcases them in different ways, showing how tragic it was to lose the Jewish identity to show business. But it offers another perspective simultaneously, showing that some of our most beloved actors and some of our “wholesome American pie” image has been crafted by an ethnic minority. If anything can dispel idiotic over patriotic ethnocentrism, it’s these facts, and the documentary is not heavy handed in its message. This is yet another strong point. It offers the facts nonchalantly.
Furthermore, it provides much insight into historical event framed by the Jewish identity in ways that are not new, but it is their history and reflects a similar experience of all minorities. It showcases, for instances, the revival of the Ku Klux Klan based on the wrongful conviction and subsequent mob hanging of Leo Frank. It was the murder of an innocent Jew, not an innocent black man that led to the revival of the Ku Klux Klan. This therefore establishes an understanding of modern anti-Semitic roots in America, and that they are not too different from anti-black sentiment, a xenophobia that results from no evidence. More shocking are its examinations of anti-Semitism among big businessmen and American heroes like Charles Lindbergh and Henry Ford, who would denounce Jews and were admired by none other than Adolph Hitler. This frames the Jewish experience in America as always at odds with people of anti-Semitic thoughts, even when those Jews were on the same level of power. The documentary, though, is not biased in its description of Jews that have less than a positive track record. The documentary also gives a very balanced and explanatory biography of the Rosenbergs, Jews who, disillusioned with America’s system, became interested in Communism. It makes the case that yes, Julius Rosenberg was guilty of giving secrets to the Soviet Union, but that there is no evidence that Ethel had anything to do with it. Therefore, it describes the events contextually, and does not hesitate to explain the events as they happened. The description of more than just positive representations of Jews is essential to the documentary, and its inclusion broadens its scope. Its scope is so wide that it also, among all these other elements, creates a constant theme of what it means to be Jewish trough so many of these stories.
The documentary, through all of these stories, creates a constant theme of Judaism as an identity and a faith, resulting in the growing experimentations with the faith in many different contexts. The documentary showcases this well, with the excellent inclusion of American Jews identifying with the oppressed Russian Jews in the Soviet Union, even flying to Russia to their aid. It also showcases the complex relationship between Jews and blacks, and the Jews’ involvement with the Civil Rights movement, and subsequent removal due to Black Separatists. These are quintessential American facts that paint the Jewish experience as a complex one. But its culmination is the most fascinating, presenting the most complex culmination of modern and traditional Judaism as Matisyahu, the Hasidic Jew who has become an international sensation. Yet, despite all of these strong points that amount to a very good documentary, it falters in one particular point that perhaps is merely an irritant to me, and may not be to other viewers.
It’s weak point descends into oblique patriotism when the narrator, Liev Schreiber begins to drone on and continue to emphasize about how the Jews loved being in America and loved their American identity despite all the difficulties that arose from it. This to me is a qualification. The film expresses the complex identities of the Jewish people well enough; I don’t feel it needs this extra little nod to the red, white and blue. I think this qualification results from people complaining about how PBS has a left wing bias. By left wing, these people generally mean anything but their espoused conservative beliefs. And it seems that in some PBS television shows, and documentaries, the network attempts to react against these attacks by qualifying their messages. The Jewish Americans seems to fall prey to this in a marginal sense, and that’s a shame, because it detracts from something that would otherwise be flawless for what it is. The mention of their identities as complex is crucial. The constant and ever present narration that mentions how the Jews love America is superfluous. Granted, its intention is most likely just to paint the Jews as American, to humanize them, to show that like everyone else in America that has had to integrate into society, they are people.
Excellent.
However, it seems to me that it is a way to make their documentary more accessible to the crowd who eats up the “I’m proud to be an American” and “freedom isn’t free” speeches. Then again, it cements the idea that PBS make its documentaries more accessible to the average educated American so to not have a catered audience, which therefore debunks any claims that it is a left wing think tank. I still have a bit of a problem with the emphasis on America’s opportunity, however. In place of this, I would have liked to hear about more of the people’s personal lives in a historical context. The film does supply that in droves, but I tire at the mention of anything remotely resembling “Oh What a Country.” Overall, it’s a very good documentary, a testament to a people who have had to struggle just as much as any other minority. And it grants them a complexity that all documentaries should give to their subjects. So I guess my irritancy is my problem and not yours. It’s just a bias I have.

The extras:

Excellent, if very sparse. I give them five stars because the documentary houses so much information in its six hours, there is almost no need for more extras other than David Grubin’s interview about the intention about the documentary and a video of Jewish recipes and other such snippets of culture. The documentary is plenty. The extras are an addition that is necessary and complete.

Our Rating: Extras Rating: User Rating:  Log in to rate this DVD

The Jewish Americans DVD review written by: Brian Reis