McCarthyism caused Americans to turn on each other due to fear, unawareness, and propaganda. Clearly due to McCarthyism, fear evoked betrayal among Americans in the 1950’s. One reason McCarthyism sparked paranoia is due to the rapid rate of communism spreading
In the 1940 's and 1950 's, an anti-Communist movement swept the United States of America. Fueled by the anti-Communist actions of Congress, particularly a Senator from Wisconsin by the name of Joseph McCarthy, the movement escalated and many people lost their jobs as a result of various blacklists. Congressional hearings, both in front of HUAC and McCarthy Senate committee were a study in organized persecution. The actions taken during the "Red Scare" were eventually given the general name McCarthyism. McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence.
Imagine the wicked House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) arrest an innocent man. The HUAC does not arrest the man because he has committed a murder, but because he is a communist. Many communists became victims of HUAC in the Red Scare crisis of the 1950s. These communists made the right decision to speak out for their freedom and against injustice. These communists also spoke out for their freedom of different beliefs.
Everyone was scared of being accused as shown with the look of terror on the women in the right corner. Most of daily life was disrupted blacklists were formed against those accused of communism even if the accusation was false. This was not the land of opportunity that America once
Film makers blamed others and said they regretted ever working with Communists to be left alone. Those whose careers were affected changed their names so they could keep making
Now, the accusations during the McCarthy era were a lot more subtle. Many of the names given to the House of Un-American Activities Committee were the names of well-known celebrities. The HUAC was the head of this McCarthian take over. The HUAC called many prominent “intellectuals” before them for communist questioning. One of the more famous questionings were that of Elia Kazan.
As time has passed, throughout history, during different periods of time there are parallels. There are three eras that we are focussed on, where there are three types of people during each era. The three different eras that we’re focusing on, are The Salem Witch Trials (1600s), The McCarthy Era (1950s), and Today (2000s); the three types of people are the people who are the reasons why there’s accusations towards the accused, the accused, and finally the accusers. In The Crucible, or during the Salem Witch Trials, the person that’s the reason why characters were accused is John Proctor. The accuser in the play, who decides to point fingers at everyone, is Abigail Williams.
“The Hollywood Ten, McCarthyism, and the Witches of Hollywood” Back in 1947, when the Cold War with the Soviet Union had occurred, the House of Un-American Activities Committee was checking to see if any suspicious communists’ activity was going on in Hollywood. This event caused nine screenwriters and one film director (lvah Bessie, Herbert Biberman, Lester Cole, Edward Dmytryk, Ring Lardner Jr., John Howard Lawson, Albert Maltz, Sam Ornitz, Robert Adrian Scott, and Dalton Trumbo) to get arrested, and they were known as “The Hollywood Ten”. “During the investigations, HUAC coerced prominent people from the film industry to declare their patriotism and give up large names of colleagues suspected of having politically unfriendly tendencies”.
Herbert Blumer looked at conflict theory through an emphasis on group position and how that generates conflict. Marilynn Brewer takes a different approach with conflict theory and focuses on the need to fit in but also the seemingly conflicting need to separate oneself from others as an instigator of conflict between groups. Both of these theories have something to say about the historical conflict between the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and the blacklisted, Communist screenwriters in Hollywood. This paper aims to show which of the previously mentioned theories is most adequate for analyzing the historical conflict in Hollywood.
Dalton Trumbo And the rest of the Hollywood Ten had their lives flipped upside down when the United States Government started going after anyone who was, has been or was suspected to be a communist. The second red scare was running wild through America and in its path formed McCarthyism, “the practice of making unfair allegations or using unfair investigative techniques, especially in order to restrict dissent or political criticism”. While McCarthyism ran rampant like a mad dog through the United States there were aggressive and unjust hearings taking place across America for those who had any ties to communism. The Hollywood Ten and Dalton Trumbo were all named as communists and during their trials were charged with contempt of court.
The Cold War is often seen as a dark time in American history, not just because of the international conflict, but because of the strife it caused within the United States itself. During the Cold War, the general culture in America was fearful and paranoid about the rise and spread of Communism within their society. One example of how this hysteria manifested is illustrated in the movie, Trumbo, which tells the story of when the Hollywood industry blacklisted famous writer Dalton Trumbo, along with other workers in the industry, who were connected to Communism. Dalton Trumbo and his associates faced bigotry and were effectively attacked for standing by their ideals, which was a reflection of how American culture had changed at that time. By
The 1950s saw the blacklisting of The Hollywood Ten, a group of screenwriters and filmmakers who were thought to have connections to communism. In 1947, they were summoned to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) regarding their political affiliations and ideas. They were accused of contempt of Congress and given prison sentences for refusing to respond. The Hollywood Ten came to represent the nation's anti-communist hysteria during the Cold War. The HUAC hearings and the Hollywood Ten's blacklisting had a long-lasting chilling impact on free speech and creative expression in the film business.
Sarah Paroya D period I hate MUSH The end of World War II should have marked a period of relief in America but instead, it lead America into a completely different type of war called the Cold War. The Cold War was an ongoing state of political and military tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. This constant state of tension and fear had been embedded deep in the American public.
History Vs. Hollywood: The Untouchables The Untouchables is an action packed movie, set in Chicago, 1920s. Crime controls the city, the system has gone corrupt, and people are dying.
Propaganda is information and opinions, especially prejudiced ones that spread to influence the people in favor of or opposing some doctrine or concept. Americans during WWII used this in a wide range of methods that provided a black and white picture of different countries with half-truths or ambiguous information. War took place on the battlefield, the air, on the water, and even below it. However, the battles of World War II cannot be only limited to combat; much of the home front battles during the war took place on the silver screen, posters, and comic books to name a few. These battles did not specifically result in casualties, although some but not all messages would eventually justify the genocide of millions of people.
