Since the early years of cinema, those who have a say in production have shaped filmic representations of race, class, culture, gender, and religion according to their own ideological agendas. The elements these representations comprise are not static but can vary, shaped by the period and cultural context in which they are produced. The conditions and context of a film's production dynamics are therefore crucial to interpreting such representations, as are moments of encounter between a film and its audience. This study evaluates prominent representations in the movie The Jazz Singer (1927), a pioneering film in the field of sound cinema, with attention to the production conditions and sensitivities of its period. The Jazz Singer is a transitional film containing stereotypes about jazz music and race, specifically Blackness, that both drew on and helped influence the daily life and popular culture of its period. The stereotypes it contains are pervasive, from the name of the movie to the poster layout, and touch on themes ranging from nation, race, and ethnicity to identity, gender, and culture. They also draw heavily on the popularity of jazz music. The film's main character is a white jazz singer who wants to self-actualize himself. While many studies have focused on the "blackface" performances the character uses to advance his career, his transformation over the course of the film as he seeks to achieve his goals is also a culturally embedded process that demands attention. To that end, this study examines how the film's jazz songs express the problems faced by contemporary Black people, which the study then connects to discussions of cult films representing Black people in the cinema literature. The study also addresses other representational practices in The Jazz Singer from the perspective of cultural studies and cinema.
