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Mccarthyism In The 1950's

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In the 1950’s there was a general theme of anti-communism; and the rise of mccarthyism in american politics led to increased politics in Hollywood Films. Mccarthyism is defined as “a vociferous campaign against alleged communists in the United States government and other institutions carried out under Senator Joseph McCarthy in the nineteen fifties” After World War II, many events in the United States and abroad increased the American fear of communism. For example, the Soviet Union used an atomic bomb for the first time in August 1949. Also, the communist party won the civil war in china and established the China we know today. In the early nineteen fifties, The House Un-American Activities Committee (or HUAC) began a campaign to “hunt” communists …show more content…

As soon as the clash between the United States and the soviet union became direct with the creation of the truman doctrine, communism in the United States went from being a subject of controversy to an issue of national security. Anyone that was suspected of having communist or communist like ideas or was thought of as a “communist sympathizer faced the prospect of being labeled Un-American. People in influential positions were under intense investigation from the state and the public. The situation was the same in the soviet union. However, the cultural vigilance was controlled and monitored, The Ministry of Cinematography. Media in the United States was instigated by a loose consolidation of old and new organizations. For example the United States Aliens Registration Act, which made it illegal to conspire to support to overthrow the American government or go against american ideals. It was used to prosecute communists in the late nineteen forties. In the Soviet union, Zhdanovism’ or cultural authoritarianism caused a huge decrease in film production because producers and directors decided that they do not want to work under the immense pressure. This meant that there were less Cold War movies the russian people could see. The situation in the United States was the opposite, Hollywood created an immense amount of Cold War films, which meant that cinema-goers watched movies that had anti-communist ideas due to it being beneficial to the “national interest” of the United

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