I have never seen Elia Kazan's black-woman-passing-for-white drama PINKY
but I did recently see Kazan's WASP pretending to be Jewish drama
GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT. Protestant Ivy-League type Gregory Peck is a
magazine reporter who tells people he is Jewish in order to feel what it's
like to be discriminated against. Though clearly well intentioned, the
movie seems a bit phoney even by 1947 standards (though it won the Best
Picture Oscar). By 1994 standards the movie is laughable. Indeed, I
enjoyed it mostly for reasons the filmmmakers never intended (Gregory
Peck's pompous acting not least among them). It is interesting to note
the condescending attitude Kazan takes toward Jews even though he was
Jewish himself. The basic message of the movie is that bigotry is wrong
but a clear secondary message is that Jews are OK as long as they are fully
assimilated into the predominant culture. A recent movie called SCHOOL
TIES is a variation on GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT
Mary Kalfatovic