Outside the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Photo: Josh White, JWPictures/©Academy Museum Foundation.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has responded to criticism of an Academy museum exhibit about the Jewish founders of Hollywood that has been accused of promoting antisemitic stereotypes.

“Some members of the Jewish community have come forward to express some concerns, and [we] are looking at how to address those concerns best while continuing to share an authentic understanding of these complex individuals and the time they lived in,” the Academy said in a statement to The Wrap. “As part of this process, we are continuing to engage with the community members who have come forward with constructive feedback and welcome these conversations. We hope to move quickly and thoughtfully in this process.”

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures opened on May 19 in Los Angeles its first permanent exhibition, titled “Hollywoodland: Jewish Founders and the Making of a Movie Capital.” It focuses on how predominately Jewish filmmakers impacted the creation of the American studio film industry in the beginning of the 20th century, especially the Jewish founders of major film studios like Warner Bros., Columbia, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Paramount.

Prominent Jewish members of the Hollywood film industry sent letters to AMPAS critiquing the exhibit for perpetuating “antisemitic tropes” and pointing out the flaws of the Jewish founders with terms such as “oppressive” and “frugal,” according to The Wrap.

“The focus is not on the founder’s achievements, but on their sins,” read one such letter by Patrick Moss, co-chair of the WGA Jewish Writers Committee. “The words used to describe these men are the following: ‘frugal,’ ‘nepotistic,’ ‘harmful,’ ‘womanizing,’ ‘oppressive,’ ‘brash,’ ‘tyrant,’ ‘cynical,’ ‘white-washed,’ ‘predator,’ … and on it goes,” Moss added. “THIS VERY EXHIBIT IS COMPLICIT in the hatred of American Jews, by using antisemitic tropes and dog-whistles.”

The letter was addressed to AMPAS CEO Bill Kramer, former Academy Museum President Jacqueline Stewart, who resigned last week, and the exhibit’s curator Dara Jaffe. Others who wrote letters criticizing the exhibit reportedly included filmmakers Kimberly Peirce, who is a member of the museum’s inclusivity committee; Alma Ha’rel, a former member of the same committee; showrunner Keetgi Kogan; and television writer Michael Kaplan.

Kogan wrote in part that the exhibit seems to portray Jewish founders of the filmmaking industry as “grasping social-climbers who chose to assimilate into American society on the backs of exploited women and people of color.”

Kaplan told The Wrap: “I think there’s a certain amount of antisemitism, whether conscious or not, but also a presentism. Some of this is valid, but the double standard and lack of context is infuriating to many of us. This exhibit shows the villains. Every other part of the museum shows the victims.”