The issue of identity became very apparent after watching the films Hester Street (1975) and The Jazz Singer (1928). Through the characters and their situations, we can observe identity conflicts that deal with religion, traditions, nationality, culture, and even family. In Hester Street, although many of the characters face an identity crisis, the focus is placed on Jake and Gitl. Jake is an immigrant that comes to America in order to get away from his former identity. He desperately wants to be Americanized and to drop his old traditions, religion, and culture. He is so desperate in fact that he leaves behind his wife and his young son because they interfere with his transformation. He finds a job as a tailor, changes his appearance, doesn’t follow the religion he was raised with, and finds a girlfriend. He is happy being someone completely different. Gitl, on the other hand, struggles to hold onto her traditions, religion, and culture. She decides, however, to follow her husband to America. She takes their son and finds Jake. Jake is terrified at the threat that Gitl poses. He is afraid that she will ruin his new life and remind him of whom he used to be. He forces Gitl to change and to become an American. He makes Gitl learn English, change her clothes, drop her religion, and do many other things that assist in her conformity. Gitl struggles with such demands but is willing to do them for the husband that she loves. In the end, it is not enough for Jake. He is not happy with her anymore and asks for a divorce. The divorce is finalized, Jake marries his girlfriend and continues living with his new identity, while Gitl returns to her former identity and finds someone that accepts her for the person that she is.
This theme of acceptance is also important when it comes to the movie The Jazz Singer (1928). The main character Jakie is torn between two directions, one that will make his father happy and one that will make him happy. His true passion is being a jazz singer but his father wants him to keep the religious role of singing at the synagogue. He struggles throughout the movie to gain his father’s acceptance just as he has gained his mother’s. Jakie dreams of his career and of being famous but is often torn apart by the guilt that he possesses. Should he keep the identity that his father desires or should he create the identity that he knows will bring him joy? In the end, he is forced to make a decision but fortunately, for him, he manages to make both him and his father happy. Before his father passes away, he sings at the synagogue for the holiday and later is able to perform in a show that his mother and friends come to watch. Jakie successfully upholds both identities even though one of them was only temporary. Although both of the movies fail at resolving the issues in a clear-cut manner, each of the characters ends up living with the identity that they longed for.
Relating Foner’s description of immigration history to the movies we watched is somewhat difficult because she misses a lot of the aspects of personal experience. As shown in Hester Street, not all of the immigrants came to America because of economic or political reasons. Many of them came in order to follow their dreams, to become someone. There is a quote that she includes in her writing that portrays this dream. It goes as follows: “My father was inspired by a vision. He saw something- he promised us something. It was this ‘America’. And ‘America’ became my dream.” This quote can easily be applied to Jake’s motives for coming to America. He too had a dream. Yes, he did want to escape some of the conditions that existed in his home country, but it was a running to something as well as a running away from something. The other part of her writing that can be applied to Jake is the common saying among Russian Jews that she includes. The saying answers the question of “who leaves for America” and the answer is “the tailors, shoemakers, and horse thieves” Jake fits into that because he becomes a tailor in America in order to get by. Foner speaks mostly about the present day immigrants and although there are similarities, there are very few. So, I will conclude this section of my post.
** Overall, I found both movies enjoyable and excellent at portraying the issues faced by many immigrants. However, Hester Street was my favorite because of the complexity found in the relationship between the two main characters. They loved each other in the past but their desires, beliefs, and customs tore them apart in the end. It really showed how important it is for two people to be on the same path if they want to be together. Sometimes, as unfortunate as it is, people must follow their own paths, wherever they may lead.
