An Empire of Their Own

Blurb

An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood is a non-fiction book whose topic is the careers of several prominent Jewish movie producers in the early years of Hollywood. Author Neal Gabler focuses on the psychological motivations of these film moguls, arguing that their background as Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe shaped their careers and influenced the movies they made.
Gabler's main thesis is that these producers generally came from poor, fatherless backgrounds, and felt like outsiders in America because of their Jewishness. In Hollywood, these producers were able to run their own industry, assimilate into the American mainstream, and produce movies that fulfilled their vision of the American dream. Gabler asserts that the nature of their business and their movies can often be traced back to their feelings of alienation as immigrants.
The book also explains that the business background of the 'Hollywood Jews' in theatre-ownership, retail distribution, and the garment industry shaped the approach these studio owners took to crafting movies for a popular audience, one similar to the marketing of films as commodities as well as works of art.