‘In the world of movies and talkies’: Hollywood in the Yiddish Forverts, 1920-1935

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article investigates the presence of Hollywood film in the Yiddish newspaper Forverts in the silent and early sound era, with a particular focus on the movie page ‘In der Velt fun Muvis un Tokis’ (‘In the World of Movies and Talkies’) which was published weekly from 1929 to 1935. In investigating the coverage, I highlight the similarities to and differences from what was published in contemporaneous mainstream, Anglophone fan magazines and newspapers, highlighting how certain differences were a direct reflection of the preoccupations of the Jewish immigrant readership of the Forverts. I then present a case study focusing on the representation of Hollywood star Norma Shearer in this Yiddish newspaper, highlighting how Shearer, a Jewish convert, was represented very differently by the Forverts than she was in the pages of magazines such as Photoplay or Motion Picture. As such, I demonstrate how non-English language sources are vital to the study of historical fan and star studies, and how the Yiddish press can help us gain new insights on familiar topics.