Hollywood Blacklist Analysis

The list accused 151 writers, directors and performers and claimed they were member of the Communist organization during World War II. The blacklist against Communists would make it significantly more difficult for a person to find employment in most industries and most likely would get a person fired just for even being interrogated or being any form of a suspect of Communism. Even a person who worked with a person accused of Communism had significantly less chance to be able to find a job. Ten stars that were most famous for standing up for themselves and pleaded the 5th amendment when asked to name Communists were known as the Hollywood ten. Their names were Herbert Biberman, Albert Maltz, Lester Cole, Adrian Scott, Samuel Ornitz, Dalton Trumbo, Edward Dmytryit, Ring Lardner Jr., John Howard Lawson and Alvah Bessie. The ten did not defend themselves because they were prideful Americans who saw their rights and the rights of others being harmed and decided to do something about, no. They were already asked if they were Communists when they went on a trip to California and they did not want to get charged with perjury. Some Americans did take action and saw that their rights were being put into question and decided to protect themselves, for example Alger Hiss who was accused and in order to solidify the fact that he was a Communist lawyers used his day to day schedule in full detail to solidify that his behaviors were that

People that worked in the army or were part of the movie industry had to answer to this question (McCarthyism).

People lost their jobs and careers went bad and even imprisonment occurred. McCarthy held hearings called the Hollywood Blacklist, which had to do with The House Committee on Un-American Activities and anti- communist activities with the FBI.

At the end of the 1940’s and the beginning of the 1950’s, the United States were in the midst of the Second Red Scare and a fear that Communism might over throw the American way of life. Cold War tensions were at an all time high, which only fueled the widespread fears of Communist subversion. It was here that Senator Joseph McCarthy became a public face when he began making claims that the U.S. Government, as well as many other areas of the country, including the entertainment industry, had been invaded by Soviet and Communist spies, looking to destroy America from within. Hearings before the House Un-American Activities Committee, Hollywood Blacklisting, and anti-communist activity from the FBI soon followed. McCarthy was under intense analysis

At this time both the democratic United States and the communist Soviet Union believed that successful advancements in technology would enable them to assert strength and superiority. According to Achieve 3000, “Case Against Rosenberg Falls Apart,” “In 1949, The Soviet Union test-launched an atomic bomb, an act that raised suspicions within the U.S. government” (1). Also, the thought of the Soviet Union having the ability to relinquish such a devastating weapon on the United States frightened the people of America as well. When the Cold War developed in the late 1040s the U.S. government again feared that the communist revolution in the Soviet Union would influence many people in the U.S. to do the same. According to the text,”The fear of communism even spread towards Hollywood when a congressional group called the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigated communist influence in the entertainment industry, issuing subpoenas to writers, actors, directors, and studio executives and asking them, ‘Are you or have you ever been a member of the Communist party’”(1).

Even though it’s great that the U.S. is helping out other countries, it was mainly for their self interests of preventing the spread of communism. With China officially becoming Communist 1949, the American public was stunned because containment had failed. American fear worsened and began to burn out of control. HUAC was formed in order to hunt and expose all the “unamericans, ” but they ended up destroying many careers without justification such as the Hollywood Ten. Document 3 shows how the FBI and HUAC had the same aims and responsibilities. He says, “Communist activity in Hollywood is effective and furthered by Communists and sympathizers.”

Emerging victoriously from World War II, America became the leader of the free-market capitalist world, and proved to be a military, economic, and political powerhouse. However, as one major war came to a close, another battle was brewing between the democratic United States and the communist Soviet Union. As the Soviet Union expanded farther West into Europe, America as well as its NATO allies worked together in an effort to contain the USSR’s expanding communist party. The Cold War went far beyond a battle between different ideologies. Rather, it developed into a global conflict where espionage, treason, and massive propaganda campaigns were inflicted on all aspects of individuals’ lives internationally. The plausibility of communism seeping into the confinements of the United States caused nation-wide fear to erupt. American businesses feared the idea of a communistic revolution on the basis that it would disturb the very groundwork that holds capitalism together. As a result, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was formed to investigate communist and fascist organizations within America. Unfortunately, the controversial tactics used during the HUAC hearings contributed to the fear, blacklisting, and repression that existed from 1940 through the 1950s. In the midst of the Cold War, several American opinions materialized concerning the role of the HUAC, in which Americans either praised the committee for its patriotic ideals, applauded but recognized the

First off the Great Depression impacted movies and musicals because once that stock market crashed nobody had money to attend the plays. So the business slowly started to go down and investors lost a lot of money. Another thing is women’s rights really had an impact on everything because it was the talk of the town on radio broadcasting so the views went up. Another result of the 19th amendment there were movies and musicals made about that. Also last but not least, when Mickey mouse was introduced it helped theatre and musicals go back up. Since the Great Depression was still in effect theatre was mainly for those who had more money.(1920s musical theatre).

During the late 1940’s and throughout the 1950’s, there was a great fear of Communism in America and abroad. The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) was created in 1938 as a means to investigate and weed out Communists and Communist supporters from American society. Its first major attack was on the Hollywood film industry. Blacklisting of Hollywood writers, actors, producers, directors and others suspected of Communist affiliations began with the committee's hearings in October of 1947, and flourished throughout the 1950s. Senator Joseph

American historian, Andrew J. Falk, author of the book Upstaging the Cold: American Dissent and Cultural Diplomacy, 1940-1960, surveys how anti-Communists in America employed the blacklist and censorship to silence dissent, especially in American foreign policy. Falk argues that, “So much of what had taken place in political culture up to this time [1947] – the crucible of the Second World War, the post war progressive movement, the containment of Hollywood progressives, the movement of dissent to early television - - all served as prelude for the contest over American cultural diplomacy.”

The outbreak of the Cold War, a production of conflicting political ideologies between the United States and the Soviet Union, led to a dramatic increase in both anti-American and anti-Soviet propaganda film productions. Why an increase in film production during the war? In fact, film is a unique form of propaganda in that it presents a combination of moving images and sound. At times, film conveys message through silence and one doesn't necessarily have to be a literate or highly educated to understand its motif. The US successfully used film to adversely mold its people’s perception about communism. Now, let’s divide the types of film that the US used to prevent the spread of communism: First, films that arouse a sense of fear, second, films

In the entertainment industry during the 1940s to 1950s, there was a political event that denied employment to screenwriters, actors, directors, musicians and other entertainment professionals due to being accused of being affiliated with Communist ("Hollywood Blacklist"). The United States government started to investigate possible connections between Hollywood and the party. In addition, there was several people who supported these investigations on Hollywood such as Walt Disney and Ronald Reagan ("Hollywood Blacklist"). Those who were against it said it goes against our First Amendment right of freedom of speech. Personally, I would not think that Walt Disney would be part of an investigation of film makers expressing their own freedom of speech. In addition, the fact the government started to investigate people because they may be linked to a political party that is not supported by the United States gives the impression that they just wanted to link a well-known person to it, so they can blame them for showing the negative images of life in America or not support the American

The Supreme Court ruled against the Hollywood’s monopoly of the film industry of the United States, directing that the production and distribution of movies be separated from movie exhibition practices. The ruling marked the death of studio era and led to numerous changes in film industry decades later. The paramount decision pushed the Twentieth century fox, Big Five studios, MGM, Paramount, RKO and Warner Bros companies to sell some of their theatre chains. The ruling went ahead to outlaw the price discriminatory and purchasing arrangements, fixing of admissions prices, block booking and

Hollywood has influenced American history since it began. It boosted and shaped the morale of a nation for almost a century. But Hollywood has not only been the influencing American society, it has been influenced by American society. In the 1920s, American society was booming; people were getting rich, spending and borrowing money, and they thought life was looking good. Then in October of 1929 the stock market crashed. Many people lost all they owned. People had invested all their money into the banks before the Crash. After the Crash, the banks had nothing. People were destitute. They had no money to pay for their houses, electrical bills, and food. It became the Great Depression. Likewise, Hollywood was impacted by the Great

The push for regulation of the motion picture industry picked up steam in the 1920’s. The coming of sound allowed for films to be much more realistic and obscene than silent films. In an effort to sell tickets and pique the public interest, movie studios began to make sexualized, profane, and violent movies. The late 20’s birthed stars like Mae West, whose character almost solely on sexual quips and innuendo. In response to these films, Daniel Lord, a Jesuit priest, submitted a production code to the studios, in 1929. Much like the public is concerned currently with the effects that violent video games can have on adolescents and society in general, Lord was particularly concerned with the moral degradation the movies could have on society. Consequently, he created a code that likely only a G rated modern movie would pass now. However, fearing the economic consequences that a catholic boycott or governmental ban would have on Hollywood profits, the Motion Picture Production and Distributors Association of America (MPPDA), which was made up of the biggest