Documentary backdrop image for Arguing the World (1998)

Documentary backdrop image for Arguing the World (1998)

1998106 minPGdocumentary

8.5/ 10(2 ratings)• TMDB

Arguing the World

1998106 minPGdocumentary

8.5/ 10(2 ratings)• TMDB

Four Jewish intellectuals from New York, educated at City College in the 1930s, reflect on their divergent paths over sixty years of political change.

Genres

Director

Synopsis

Four Jewish intellectuals from New York, educated at City College in the 1930s, reflect on their divergent paths over sixty years of political change.

People

Joseph Dormandirector

Joseph Dormanwriter

Alan Rosenberg

Alan Rosenbergcast

Synopsis

Daniel Bell, Irving Howe, Nathan Glazer, and Richard Hofstadter met at City College in New York during the 1930s. Over the next sixty years, these four Jewish intellectuals took distinct paths, shaped by the political and social changes of their time. Archival footage and personal interviews reveal their debates and discussions, reflecting their evolving ideologies and contributions to American thought. The film examines how their Jewish heritage and the cultural environment of New York influenced their lives and work.

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

Israelism (2023)

Israelism

2023•1h24m•★8.2TMDB

Two young American Jews join a movement redefining Judaism’s relationship with Israel, exposing a growing generational divide.

Best of Enemies (2015)

Best of Enemies

2015•1h27m•★7.2TMDB

Ten televised debates took place between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr. during the 1968 United States presidential election.

Best of Enemies

Should We Argue More? (2025)

Should We Argue More?

Contemporary society's heated debates and polarization are examined through the insights of psychologists and sociologists, exploring the potential benefits of constructive disagreement.

Should We Argue More?

Forget Baghdad (2026)

Forget Baghdad

Jewish communists from Iraq are examined alongside stereotypes of "Jew" and "Arab" through a century of film, featuring voices like Shimon Ballas and Ella Shohat.

Israelism - A Never-Ending War For The Holy Land? (2024)

Israelism - A Never-Ending War For The Holy Land?

At least 400 villages have been completely undone, reflecting the ongoing displacement and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Israelism - A Never-Ending War For The Holy Land?

Polarization in the US: Exploring the growing political and cultural divide (2025)

Polarization in the US: Exploring the growing political and cultural divide

The growing political and cultural divide in the United States is examined through interviews with figures like Noam Chomsky and Tucker Carlson, highlighting key issues and potential solutions.

Polarization in the US: Exploring the growing political and cultural divide

Israelism: Young Jews Confront the Old Guard (2025)

Israelism: Young Jews Confront the Old Guard

Young American Jews Simone Zimmerman and Eitan confront their upbringing and challenge the traditional narratives of Israel's role in Judaism after witnessing the treatment of Palestinians.

Israelism: Young Jews Confront the Old Guard

New York's Orthodox Jews: a City Within a City (2026)

New York's Orthodox Jews: a City Within a City

In New York City, over 200,000 ultra-Orthodox and Hasidic Jews maintain a lifestyle rooted in 18th-century traditions and strict adherence to Judaic law.

New York's Orthodox Jews: a City Within a City

School of creativity - reinventing the world in the digital age (3/6) (2017)

School of creativity - reinventing the world in the digital age (3/6)

Women would not gain equal rights before the law in European constitutions until the 20th century, despite calls for equality dating back to the 18th century.

School of creativity - reinventing the world in the digital age (3/6)

Explore Arguing the World

Cast & Crew FAQ Stream

Browse more like this

Best of Enemies (2015)

Best of Enemies

2015•1h27m•★7.2TMDB

Ten televised debates took place between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr. during the 1968 United States presidential election.

Best of Enemies

No digital watch option in your country

Should We Argue More? (2025)

Should We Argue More?

Contemporary society's heated debates and polarization are examined through the insights of psychologists and sociologists, exploring the potential benefits of constructive disagreement.

Should We Argue More?

No digital watch option in your country

Forget Baghdad (2026)

Forget Baghdad

Jewish communists from Iraq are examined alongside stereotypes of "Jew" and "Arab" through a century of film, featuring voices like Shimon Ballas and Ella Shohat.

No digital watch option in your country

Israelism - A Never-Ending War For The Holy Land? (2024)

Israelism - A Never-Ending War For The Holy Land?

At least 400 villages have been completely undone, reflecting the ongoing displacement and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Israelism - A Never-Ending War For The Holy Land?

No digital watch option in your country

Israelism: Young Jews Confront the Old Guard (2025)

Israelism: Young Jews Confront the Old Guard

Young American Jews Simone Zimmerman and Eitan confront their upbringing and challenge the traditional narratives of Israel's role in Judaism after witnessing the treatment of Palestinians.

Israelism: Young Jews Confront the Old Guard

No digital watch option in your country

New York's Orthodox Jews: a City Within a City (2026)

New York's Orthodox Jews: a City Within a City

In New York City, over 200,000 ultra-Orthodox and Hasidic Jews maintain a lifestyle rooted in 18th-century traditions and strict adherence to Judaic law.

New York's Orthodox Jews: a City Within a City

No digital watch option in your country

The 50 Year Argument (2014)

The 50 Year Argument

2014•1h35m•★6.6TMDB

Fifty years of articles from The New York Review of Books are examined through archival footage and interviews with notable contributors.

The 50 Year Argument

David Baddiel: Jews Don't Count (2022)

David Baddiel: Jews Don't Count

2022•1h•★10.0TMDB

David Baddiel engages Stephen Fry, Miriam Margolyes, and Neil Gaiman in discussions about the overlooked antisemitism within the progressive left.

David Baddiel: Jews Don't Count

GI Jews: Jewish Americans in World War II (2018)

GI Jews: Jewish Americans in World War II

2018•1h27m•★10.0TMDB

550,000 Jewish American men and women served in World War II, facing anti-Semitism while fighting for their country and identity.

GI Jews: Jewish Americans in World War II

Everything That Is Forgotten in an Instant (2020)

Everything That Is Forgotten in an Instant

2020•1h11m•★8.0TMDB

Richard Shpuntoff recalls his Jewish immigrant upbringing in 1970s and 80s Queens while addressing cultural heritage in Buenos Aires.

Everything That Is Forgotten in an Instant

Tragic Awakening: A New Look at the Oldest Hatred (2024)

Tragic Awakening: A New Look at the Oldest Hatred

2024•55m•★10.0TMDB

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks discusses antisemitism's origins in resentment of Jewish achievement, featuring perspectives from Yossi Klein Halevi and Michal Cotler-Wunsh.

Tragic Awakening: A New Look at the Oldest Hatred

The World According to Irving (2012)

The World According to Irving

2012•1h30m•★6.7TMDB

John Irving shares insights into his creative process and the inspirations behind his novels, including "The World According to Garp" and "A Prayer for Owen Meany."

The World According to Irving

When Jews Were Funny (2013)

When Jews Were Funny

2013•1h29m•★6.5TMDB

Two dozen interviews with Jewish comedy professionals reveal the cultural significance of Jewish humor in North American comedy from the 1930s to the 1970s.

When Jews Were Funny

Hollywoodism: Jews, Movies and the American Dream (1998)

Hollywoodism: Jews, Movies and the American Dream

1998•1h40m•★7.3TMDB

Three influential figures-Louis B. Mayer, Samuel Goldwyn, and Adolph Zukor-shaped Hollywood's narrative style and reflected Jewish cultural values in American cinema.

Hollywoodism: Jews, Movies and the American Dream

The Baby Daddy (2022)

The Baby Daddy

2022•1h18m•★5.0TMDB

Ari Nagel has fathered over 100 children, creating ethical dilemmas and straining his relationship with his eldest son, Tyler.

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood (2018)

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood

2018•1h38m•★5.9TMDB

Scotty Bowers acted as an unpaid pimp for Hollywood stars from the 1940s to the 1980s, revealing the hidden sexual dynamics of the film industry.

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood

A Yiddish World Remembered (2004)

A Yiddish World Remembered

2004•1h•★9.5TMDB

A never-before-seen film from the 1920s shows the aftermath of a pogrom where Cossacks attacked Jewish neighborhoods in Eastern Europe.

A Yiddish World Remembered

Pelevin (2022)

Pelevin

2022•1h30m•★10.0TMDB

Each of Viktor Pelevin's novels sells around 100,000 copies, yet he has not made a public appearance in nearly two decades.

Browse more by Joseph Dorman

View all films →

Colliding Dreams (2015)

Colliding Dreams

2015

Sholem Aleichem: Laughing In The Darkness (2012)

Sholem Aleichem: Laughing In The Darkness

2012

Moynihan (2018)

Moynihan

2018

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →