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The American Jewish Immigrant Family in Film and History: The Historical Accuracy of Barry Levinson's Avalon

1996; Volume: 26; Issue: 1-4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/flm.1996.a395957

1548-9922

Michael B. Kassel,

Jewish Identity and Society

Kassel | The Historical Accuracy of Barry Levinson's Avalon Michael B. Kassel Michigan State University The American Jewish Immigrant Family in Film and History: The Historical Accuracy of Barry Levinson's Avalon m ilm is a product of an industry whose ultimate goal is obtaining a maximum profit; accommodations made in pursuit of such profits often stand in the way of historical accuracy. Thus, it is surprising to find a film such as Barry Levinson's Avalon, the third in his series of semi-autobiographical "Baltimore pictures," which, in the spirit of Diner (1982) and Tin Men (1987), transcend economic accommodations to render a highly accurate portrayal of American life-in this case, the life of an American Jewish immigrant family. Because a film such as Avalon is so rare, it merits close study of the historical insights it provides. While Levinson freely admits that his scripts are constructed quickly and revised primarily during filming (Levinson x), Avalon contains an uncanny historical accuracy that allows for historians and students of popular culture to treat the film's family as a "real" entity that can be evaluated on its own terms. Viewed in historical perspective, Avalon demonstrates that progress and assimilation had a detrimental effect on the Jewish immigrant family. Ultimately, Avalon serves as an example of how a popular culture artifact can become a useful tool for the historian. Avalon's historical accuracy is carried by its major characters. There are four generations represented, each providing an interesting and important perspective on the factor's facing a family in the process of assimilation. The main characters include Sam Krichinsky, a first generation immigrant; Sam's son, Jules; and Jules' son, Michael. The other primary characters are Eva, Sam's wife, and Eva's brother, Simka, a concentration camp refugee. Also important are Sam's brother Gabriel and Jule's cousin Izzy. Jule's wife Ann also plays a pivotal role in this family saga. 52 I Film & History Regular Feature | Feature Films and Culture Table 1: Sam Krichinsky's Family European Parents First Generation Sam (marries Eva) Second Generation Jules (marries Ann) Third Generation Michael and David (Jules and Ann's sons) Fourth Generation Sam (Michael's son) Coming to America "I came to America in 1914 ... by way of Philadelphia ... That's where I got off the boat," recalls Sam Krichinsky in the opening scene of Avalon. "And then I came to Baltimore. It was the most beautiful place you've ever seen in your life ..." (Levinson 243) In Avalon, Sam Krichinsky serves as a model of one ofthe 200,000 Jews who eventually left the economic hardships and persecution of Russia during the late-eighteenth/ early-nineteenth century. Ofthe 123,947 Jews entering America between 1885 - 1889, 82,212 were from Russia (Karp 350). Between 1881 and 1900, 41,000 of those Russian Jews found themselves in Baltimore (Brugger 26970 ). It was an exciting time: "There were lights everywhere ," continued Sam. "... what lights they had. It was a celebration oflights. I thought theywere for me ... Sam was in America .... Sam was in America" (Levinson 243). To Sam, those lights offered the hope that he and thousands of other Russian Jews were seeking. Arthur Hertzberg in The Jews in America (1989) states that "America was the place where those who had been most deeply wounded could go to escape the authority which had betrayed them (163)." Hertzberg cites several "push - pull" factors that encouraged such immigration . "Pulling" the Jews toward American shores were legends of opportunity. But many of those tales of a better life were considered to be unfounded , particularly amongst the wealthy and cultured Russian Jews. More significant to Hertzberg were the factors that tended to "push" the Russian Jews toward an American alternative. In addition to the violent Russian pogroms, which encouraged Jewish emigration , Hertzberg advances a class-based argument (one which is somewhat historically problematic in its lack of attention to the impact of the pogroms) which claims that economically disadvantaged Russian Jews comprised the majority of those making the trek to America (163). Thus, while some have suggested that Russian Jews of high intellect and culture were those who came to America's shores...