Radio Days portrays typical Jewish family members’ lives in New York from Joe’s point of view. Unlike Goodfellas, the characters in Radio Days didn’t have many struggles and conflicts with their ethnicity. In Goodfellas, Henry and other gangsters were very concerned about their nationalities and biological relations. Henry couldn’t join the Mafia because he wasn’t entirely Italian. In Radio Days, the portrayal of ethnicity wasn’t as deliberate as it was in Goodfellas. This can be seen from the scene when Joe stole the donations for the Jewish homeland to buy the secret compartment ring he heard from the radio and the scene when Uncle Abe broke his fast on Yom Kippur. Although these incidents showed the characters’ ignorance about their cultural backgrounds, the family still retained their Jewish traditional values very well.
According to Desser and Friedman’s article, Woody Allen seemed to express of self-hatred in his films. As an American-Jewish, Woody Allen didn’t seem to portray the importance of Jewish values in his film very well. For example, in this film, the scene when Uncle Abe broke his fast on Yom Kippur depicted his ignorance of his religious commitment. Yet, the authors also pointed out that there were many indications of Jewishness in the film. For instance, the fact that Uncle Abe brought fish home everyday represented how fish have fed Jews during the Great Depression.
The community in Radio Days was more culturally integrated than Goodfellas. In Goodfellas, most people in Henry’s community were Italians. They didn’t accept people from other backgrounds into their community. They were isolated from others. Because of their socioeconomic status, Joe’s family must live with people with different beliefs. They must cope with their communist neighbors, though they didn’t understand and respect the family’s traditions and religions at. Although Radio Days had very few characters of other race, it has managed to create a more open and peaceful atmosphere than Goodfellas by avoiding the discussion of ethnicities. Nevertheless, interracial relationship seemed to be a taboo in the film. This could be seen from Joe’s mother’s story of Mrs. Silverman, who had suffered a stroke with the tea cup frozen in her hand after seeing her neighbor’s daughter kissing an African American man at night. This was the only scene in the film that had mentioned African Americans, which has shown the strong emphasis on “whiteness” in this film.
As the title suggested, Radio Days has centered on the periods when radio was prevailed among Americans. The various radio programs have shaped characters’ identities in the film. For example, Joe’s parents liked to listen to The Court of Human Emotions, which coincided with their everyday quarrelling life situation. Joe’s mother also liked Breakfast with Irene and Roger, which showed her desire to enjoy the glamour of the upper class New York City life. Joe’s cousin, Ruthie, loved the romantic music programs, which showed her desire to break the traditional Jewish values and entered the mainstream American culture. Uncle Abe liked the sport shows and Aunt Ceil liked the ventriloquist shows, which identified them as unique members in the family. Joe’s favorite show was the Masked Avenger, which has shown his curiosity as a child. In those days, everybody had a favorite radio shows that he/she thought could best represent him/herself. Radio has become the memories of generations of people. It was a symbol of an era. Just like today’s parents were chasing after their children telling them not to watch too much TV, Joe’s parents were chasing after Joe telling him not to listen to radio. This phenomenon would continue as time passed by.
The prevalence of radio has created a new wave of celebrity culture. In the film, Joe described several radio celebrities’ stories. Sally’s stories have somehow represented the “American dream.” They exemplified that New York City is a place full of opportunities. People can become famous with courage and diligence. Irene and Rodger’s stories presented upper class New Yorkers’ lives. All of these stories showed the glamour of a generation of people. As technology and the society advanced, radio began to fade out in people’s lives. However, it has leaved an inerasable mark to people who have gone through its era. It would remain in people’s memories and pass on as a piece of history.
