THE POLITICS OF REPRESENTATION OF AMERICAN JEWS IN HOLLYWOOD MOVIES: A STUDY OF BENHUR, THE CHOSEN AND SCHINDLER’S LIST

Witriani, - (2016) THE POLITICS OF REPRESENTATION OF AMERICAN JEWS IN HOLLYWOOD MOVIES: A STUDY OF BENHUR, THE CHOSEN AND SCHINDLER’S LIST. Doctoral thesis, UIN SUNAN KALIJAGA YOGYAKARTA.

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Abstract

The involvement of American Jews in the Hollywood movie industry is more than just an American immigrant success story. Arriving in large numbers and mostly from Eastern Europe, these Ashkenazic Jews then contributed to build and transform Hollywood movies as a world icon. Though quite dominant, the Jews seemed to be careful in this industry. Anti-Semitism, the World War, and the Great Depression were some of the things that made them uncomfortable of being in the spotlight or talking about their identity among the Christian audiences of the movies. However, the conditions changed after the Second World War and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Jews and Judaism later appeared in various representations that not only changed their image in Hollywood, but also garnered broader acceptance from American society. Focusing on three films: Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ, the Chosen, and Schindler’s List, this research reveals the politics of Jewish representation through the movies they produced, including the negotiations and changes they made as a part of the American Jewish diaspora. Using Stuart Hall’s Theory of Representation and the Critical Discourse Analysis of Theo Van Leuween as an approach, this research focuses on the analysis of words and images depicted in those movies that represent the Jews both as an ethnicity and as a religion. Through depictions in these movies, the moviemakers are able to construct a different concept of Jews and Jewishness. These representations are in the form of altering Jewish images in response to the stereotypes that existed in society, especially their relations with Christians, negotiations of identity as Jews and Americans, as well as supporting their loyalty to the state of Israel. Through films, Jews also convey various messages to the audience about their ambivalence identity as a cultural tradition and religion, the wounds of history, and even the position of Jewish women

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