Intersectional Analysis: The Jazz Singer

Julius Briscoe

History 300US

Professor Brittingham

5 May 2023

The Jazz Singer: An Intersectional Analysis of Cultural Identity, Generational Strife, and Popular Culture The Jazz Singer is a 1927 American musical film that follows a young man by the name of Jakie Rabinowitz who has huge dreams of one day becoming a professional jazz singer. Unfortunately, he is torn between his passion for music and his family’s orthodox traditions. The film has become a cornerstone of cinematic history, primarily through its introduction of synchronous sound to the overall film experience, but also through it’s direct addressing of Jewish culture in America and the friction between the new generation of Jews and their first-generation parents. The film also

That is the scene that features the song “Ain’t Heard Nothin’ Yet”, where Jakie performs at a jazz club and is introduced as “The new voice of jazz” by the club owner. As Rabinowitz begins his performance, the true skill of the filmmakers is shown as we see the camera cut back and forth between the audience, who are enthralled with his performance, and Jakie, as he delivers a hair-raising performance of the song. The impact is felt because it features the full scope of Al Jolson’s abilities to deliver a powerful and dynamic performance. The song itself is the embodiment of the film’s key themes of the energy and vitality of jazz while also acknowledging the anxieties and conflicts that come with change and progress. This is shown through both the general energy of the scene, as built by the filmmakers, and the lyrics in the song which feature lines such as “She's all I ever wanted, my dreams are always haunted, by this sweet sweetie of mine!”. The placement of the song at this time of the film and the pairing with the context of the film attribute a sort of sweetheart-esque framing to Rabinowitz’s hopes and dreams. Importantly, it serves create the same tensions in regard to these hopes and dreams as would be present in making long term decisions such as deciding that your sweetheart is the one. At its core it becomes a matter of “you’ll know it when you feel it”

That is the important context that must be added to complete the analysis, the context that Jakie’s experience wasn’t some silver screen dream, but rather, it was an all-too-tangible reality not just for Jewish Americans and their children, but also every other X American and their children. That is where the staying power of this film arises, at the time it represented the Jewish struggle, today it represents the immigrant struggle. In the modern-day Jews are becoming more and more removed from their first-generation ancestors, so this film holds less impact for them than in decades prior. Instead, this film serves as the desperately needed representation of modern day second generations of modern-day immigrants and refugees to the country. That is where the true impact of The Jazz Singer is seen, through its foundation of representing Jewish people in 1927 to its lasting representation of new Americans almost a full century