Document Title
‘The antithesis of the film magnate’: Irving Thalberg and the politics of ethno-religious identity in early Hollywood
Department/School
History
Abstract
As a powerful, high-profile member of Los Angeles’ Jewish and German-American communities and a founder of MGM, the native-born, middle-class Irving Thalberg was framed as a ‘better, finer’ Jew as compared to his older, immigrant, US film industry mentors. This essay sheds new light on Thalberg’s hybrid identity as German-Jewish-American, asking how it shaped his life, work, popular persona, and memory. As MGM production chief, Thalberg’s work included shaping culture and philanthropy in 1920s and 1930s Los Angeles. Then and now, Thalberg as ‘model minority’ both challenged and reinforced pernicious ethno-religious stereotypes that undergirded myths of Jewish media domination in an industrializing America.
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Jewish Culture and History
Publication Date
2016
Volume
17
Issue
1-2
Pages
45-58
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.1080/1462169X.2016.1169611
