"Gentleman's Agreement" Review

“Gentleman’s Agreement” Review In the movie, “Gentleman’s Agreement,” Phillip Green, a new journalist to a national magazine, is told to write a series of articles on anti-Semitism in America. In order to impress his new boss and fellow writers, he decides to “become” Jewish in order to experience anti-Semitism first-hand. Not only does this film touch upon significant matters such as this, but prejudice and other stereotypes. Overall, this film is relatable in many ways and brings to light these important issues. Phillip begins his quest to write this particular article with a new mindset when his son, Tommy, referring to Jews, asked, “Why don't some people like them?” Phillip responds with, “Well, I can't really explain it, Tommy.” And how could he? How could someone teach about anti-Semitism or prejudice when they’ve never experienced it? It’s like when a white teacher teaches about the ongoing hardships of racism when there are black students in the class. They could preach some facts or tell some stories that they’re read in a textbook or online, but black students in that class would just sit there knowing how it truly feels and are actually affected by it every day. Phillip could’ve done the same thing and told his son some typical facts or made up some reasonable reasons, but he knew that he would never know unless he was to become Jewish and be noticeably treated differently because of it.
From his first official outing after becoming Jewish, Phillip immediately notices a difference. At a business luncheon, after he states that he is Jewish; the people around him immediately quiet down and stuff their faces, awkwardly ending any conversations with him. You can’t seem to forget that these are business people, well-educated people, but obviously that doesn’t matter. Even though Phillip is a known and respected writer, he is shut out just because he is Jewish. For many, it’s difficult to understand, and maybe people watching the film think that