In America during the era of the cold war there was a fear of the USSR and communism; Senator Mcarthy’s ideas grew in popularity and “McCarthyism” took hold across America. American people were taught to fear communism and how communism would affect American society. This growing fear led to a witch hunt for communists in America. Hollywood was victim to the bulk of communist accusations in an event called the “Hollywood Blacklist”. The Hollywood Blacklist was a significant event in the Cold War; it affected Hollywood and the victims in many ways. The cold war was a dark time in Hollywood’s history. The growing paranoia of communism and the increasing power of Senator McCarthy resulted in the Hollywood Blacklist. The Hollywood Blacklist occurred when the House on Un-American Activities began targeting Hollywood screenwriters, actor, directors, and musicians suspected of involvement in the American Communist Party. These victims would be blacklisted, “barred from work on the basis of their alleged membership in or sympathy to the American Communist party.” (Wikipedia.org) These individuals would be questioned in court and if they refused to testify or give names of other alleged communist they would be further punished. They could even be imprisoned, as in the case of the Hollywood ten. The Hollywood Blacklist lasted until 1960 and it permanently damaged hundreds of victim’s lives. The Hollywood 10 were the first victims to be backlisted under the HUAC(House on Un-American Activities). On November 25, 1947 ten Hollywood screenwriters and directors were cited for contempt of Congress and blacklisted following their refusal to testify, these ten victims included Dalton Trumbo, Lester Cole and Samuel Ornitz. In its entirety 320 peop... ... middle of paper ... ...had formerly been a part of the American Communist Party (pbs.org) Elia lost many friends, including Arthur Miller, because of his testimony. His actions have been criticized to this day but despite this he was awarded a lifetime achievement award in 1999. There was mixed reviews over the decision to award him; many were still bitter about his actions decades before but it was argued that despite his history he still made incredible films. To this day, members of Hollywood still remember the Hollywood Blacklist and its many victims. The Hollywood Blacklist has had lasting effects on Hollywood. The people of Hollywood are more aware of their freedom to write and direct any way they choose which strongly contrasts with the environment of Hollywood during The Cold War. The Hollywood Blacklist was one of the most important events in Hollywood history and the Cold war.
To get a clear view and understanding of the book, first must review the time period in history. The book was written in the mid 1950's during the cold war. Former General McCarthy, then U.S. Senator started a fire ball of suspicion, suppression, and incarceration. This had a very huge impact on the entrainment industry, which included everyone from playwrights to filmmakers, as well as writers and actors. If anyone in that time period was suspected of being a communist, the government could come and pull them out of their home. At the least a suspected communist would be banned, or put on a black ball list. Printed in the Times, McCarthy's First Slander, "Overnight, his speech sparked a media firestorm that played to the basest fears of Americans swept up in a frightening cold war and triggered loyalty oaths, blacklists and personal betrayals that cost an estimated 10,000 Americans their jobs and some shattered innocents their lives." (Johanna McGeary 28) This happened to a number of actors and film makers during that time period. The black ball list was a list of names of people who were believed to be communist. The people on this list came from the movie industry as well as writers. These people would no longer be able to get work ...
“When a great democracy is destroyed, it will not be because of enemies from without, but rather because of enemies from within.” During the late 1940s and early 1950s, these words of Abraham Lincoln were all on the minds of Americans (McCarthyism). After fighting against Communism for decades, the fear of it taking down the country terrorized people’s thoughts. Even more so, people were extremely frightened of the idea that there could be Communists within the spotlights of American influence that were plotting the destruction of the United States. A fear swept the country for almost a decade, and it transformed every aspect of American culture. This transformation began in the entertainment industry and hit here the hardest. The fear of Communism completely spun the industry upside down and distorted everything that made American showbiz so distinct. Even today, the controversies of the 1940s and 1950s have left an impression on the current entertainment industry.
In Hollywood political conflict was also paving the way for what would later occur in Hollywood as the HUAC would attack the industry. Big business controlled the lucrative industry and the companies that controlled the market were eight major studios in Hollywood. The Metro-Goldw...
Some of those blacklisted continued to write Hollywood films, using false names. This allowed movies such as The Bridge on the River Kwai to be completed. Several screenwriters moved to other countries, where they were able to find work in film. Most estimates indicate that the blacklist involved approximately three hundred and twenty-five employees in film and related industries. However nearly expert believes there were over five hundred victims of the Hollywood blacklist. It wasn’t until 1961, when a director named Otto Preminger announced he was hiring a writer named Trumbo who was on the blacklist to write a move that things began to slowly change. In 1997, a group named the Writers Guild of America voted to change the writing credits of 23 films made during the blacklist period.
Censorship in the 1950's: How did this affect the making of “Night and Fog” one of the first ever cinematic documentaries on the Holocaust? A film by Alain Resnais.
The tendency to go soft on McCarthyism has been evident in popular culture as well. The presentation of a special Lifetime Achievement Award to director Elia Kazan at the 1999 Oscar ceremony is the most flagrant and controversial example. Another example of the current vogu...
Propaganda even was expelled in the form of Hollywood movies. The most infamous storyline was that anyone you knew could possibly be, or is becoming a Communist. These movies became a very proficient way to add to the already paranoid public, with scare tactics and nationalism. Since Americans were terrified by the idea of suddenly being attacked, producers promoted thoughts of post-explosion people, with grotesque features, cities in complete wasteland. Filmmakers made anti-communist films to influence, but more importantly, because they were being investigated by Washington D.C.'s Red Raiders. Because the United States wanted to remain allies with the Soviet Union, they continued to produce pro-Soviet films. This continued until the House Under American Activities Committee was questioning their motives. The HUAC was worried that these films would influence Americans to engage in Communism. Because of these investigations, filmmakers started filming obvious anti-Communist films, such as I Married a Communist (1950) and My Son John (1952) (Gustainis 550). One of the films that was created was titled Fail-Safe, which was about bombers who worked for the American side who were mistakenly asked to bomb the Soviet Union, with no way to be
...ut it really doesn’t matter whom you put on the list, For none of them be missed— They’d none of ‘em be missed!" This was a burden for some of the people carrying out the missions of the committee, but to the high-ranking politicians, the fear and injustice was a victory. To them anything to stop the spread of Communism, for whatever reason or agenda they had, was good. The end of Communism was a wonderful way to gain both business and votes. It was not just the high-ranking politicians that praised the committee’s actions; "friendly" movie stars were tripping over one another to commend the committee. Among these actors were Ronald Regan, George Murphy, Robert Montgomery, and Adolph Menjou. They "donned the mantle of the anti Communist warriors". Some people went to great lengths to make the committee happy. There wasn’t much that the "friendly" actors would not do, not to get "blacklisted". Roy Brewer spoke for three hours about the "reds". Walt Disney revealed a "ploy by the left-wing Screen Cartoonists Guild to subvert Mickey mouse into a Marxist rat". The movie
Known as the Hollywood Ten, they claimed that the 1st Amendment of the United States Constitution gave them the right to do this. The House of Un-American Activities Committee and the courts during appeals disagreed and they all were found guilty of contempt of congress and each was sentenced to between six and twelve months in prison.
The Blacklist has been able to utilize its marketing strengths to better position itself in the industry. In entertainment, particularly the film and series sector, marketing is a challenging and dynamic function of business. Fortunately, the issue of marketing and positioning was not challenging for The Blacklist because of the brilliance of the actors, scriptwriters and producers of the show. The series is able to capture the attention of its audience, by casting its popular actors. Other audiences that have been and will continue to be crucial to The Blacklist’s success are the fans that each cast member has brought with them from their previous work. For inst...
There was a time when America was suspicious of loyal communists and gathered anyone who was suspected of being one. It did not matter if such people were targeted for aiding Soviet Russia or other enemies of the state, but simply for believing in communism; the belief that assets should be distributed equally in the nation. When people with such a belief were caught, they were called into martial court for questioning. A certain Hollywood screenwriter, James Dalton Trumbo was one of these people. The book TRUMBO was written by Bruce Cook and published by the Grand Central Publishing, a reissued edition, in September 8, 2015. In the book, Cook explains the early life of Trumbo, the blacklist from Hollywood films, and how Trumbo broke it.
The blacklist was employ in the period of “Red Scare”. The people who were in the blacklist were disreputable by the society and were not able to get a job in some areas.
Sunset Boulevard was released in 1950; five years after WWII. Five years after WWII, the cold war began as well as McCarthyism. Joseph R. McCarthy was a senator for Wisconsin
The twentieth century marks a significant break in American film censorship as filmmakers began pushing the envelope to create films depicting controversial narratives, prompting public outrage and debate concerning the management of content in films. The ongoing battle between film producers, social activists, and religious organizations striving to obtain the power to influence the substance of films, led to the 1915 court case, Mutual Film Corporation v. Industrial Commission of Ohio. The court ruling declared that films would not be granted protection under the First Amendment, therefore, allowing state censorship boards the right to censor films containing politically, morally, or socially unacceptable material. However, the releasement
However, the name has become a common reference to the entertainment industry and the people within it (Abcarian, Hollywood's Moral Confusion: They Kicked Harvey Out, Then Nominated Kobe for an Oscar). Hollywood has crafted many pieces of entertainment that are enjoyable and full of quality content. Lately, instead of being a creative space for artists to express themselves, Hollywood has become a political platform for individuals to push unideal political agendas at inappropriate times. It seems that as the industry gained global dominance from their honest creations, power hungry people crept in and found an ideal place to