Academy Museum of Motion Pictures ‘Immediately’ Revises Controversial Exhibit on Jewish Founders of Hollywood

Shiryn Ghermezian

The first Oscars. Photo: Courtesy Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles announced on Monday that it will make changes to its new exhibit about the Jewish roots of the Hollywood film industry after it was criticized by Jewish activists and members of the entertainment industry.

The museum said in a statement to the The Hollywood Reporter that it “heard the concerns from members of the Jewish community,” takes the concerns “seriously,” and is ”committed to making changes to the exhibition to address them.”

“We will be implementing the first set of changes immediately — they will allow us to tell these important stories without using phrasing that may unintentionally reinforce stereotypes. This will also help to eliminate any ambiguities,” the museum added, before stating that it is “convening an advisory group of experts from leading museums focused on the Jewish community, civil rights, and the history of other marginalized groups to advise us on complex questions about context and any necessary additions to the exhibition’s narrative.”

“We are deeply committed to telling these important stories in an honest, respectful, and impactful way,” the museum said in conclusion.

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures opened on May 19 its first permanent exhibition, titled “Hollywoodland: Jewish Founders and the Making of a Movie Capital.” The exhibit highlights the “Jewish founders of the Hollywood studio system” and “tells the origin story of filmmaking in early 20th-century Los Angeles, spotlighting the impact of the predominately Jewish filmmakers whose establishment of the American film studio system transformed Los Angeles into a global epicenter of cinema.”

Jewish activists and members of the film and television industry criticized the exhibit for its negative portrayal of Jewish studio founders and filmmakers, claiming that the exhibit focused more on their flaws than their achievements. The critics accused the exhibit of promoting “antisemitic tropes” and attacked the museum for describing the Jewish filmmakers with words like “oppressive,” “harmful,” “predator,” and “tyrant.”

The museum announced changes to “Hollywoodland” on Monday before an open letter published by a group called United Jewish Writers further condemned the exhibit.

“While we acknowledge the value in confronting Hollywood’s problematic past, the despicable double standard of the ‘Jewish Founders’ exhibit, blaming only the Jews for that problematic past, is unacceptable and, whether intentional or not, antisemitic,” read the open letter. “We call on the Academy Museum to thoroughly redo this exhibit so that it celebrates the Jewish founders of Hollywood with the same respect and enthusiasm granted to those celebrated throughout the rest of the museum.”

United Jewish Writers also claimed that the exhibit is “the only section of the museum that vilifies those it purports to celebrate.” The open letter was signed by more than 300 Jewish members of the entertainment industry, including actor David Schwimmer and showrunner Amy Sherman-Palladino.