Communist Influence In Hollywood Film

Improved Essays
In addition to the restructuring of the film business, Hollywood was likewise reeling from the impacts of McCarthyism. Morality and patriotism of Hollywood film and movie producers were under assault from the government, religious, and natives' gatherings. The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) which had been established in 1938, chose to direct hearings on communist influence in Hollywood. The Hollywood Ten case started in postwar America amid the primary rustlings of the cold-war. In November, HUAC subpoenaed 41 individuals required in making suspicious communist films. Amid the hearings, ten individuals declined to answer the council's famous question: "Are you now or have you ever been an individual from the Communist party?" All ten were sentenced for contempt of Congress and were sentenced to between six months and one year in government jail and fines of one thousand dollars. The Hollywood Ten went ahead to wind up boycotted, were let go, and rejected for any work in motion picture industry, this came about to subterfuge.(Baughman 301-303)

The film business had attempted the errand of controlling the moral content of motion pictures, through the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) to balance an open challenge about film industry morals. This
…show more content…
The decade of the 1950s saw the film business create a few religious movies which pulled in substantial groups of onlookers and wide-spread attention. The considerable religious enthusiasm of the decade recommended an instant group of onlookers for such films as Hollywood confronted the increased financial risk and developing rivalry of TV. Verifiable blockbusters appeared on widescreens in vivid colors that the little, highly contrasting TV sets of the time couldn't match, should confirm the motion picture industry's motto that "films are better than anyone might have expected". (Baughman

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Films are products of their time and evolve as American culture evolves. As such, directorial use of existing technology, and the cultural desire for improved movie-making have led to the development of the motion picture industry. “To most people, a movie is popular entertainment, a product to be produced and marketed by a large commercial studio. Regardless of the subject matter, this movie is pretty to look at – every image is well polished by an army of skilled artists and technicians” (Barsam & Monahan, 2016, p.3).…

    • 1453 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    During the 1950’s, many innocent people in America were accused of Communist ideals. Joseph McCarthy was in charge of the bulk of the accusations by convicting members of the government, Hollywood actors, authors, and publishers. Many people lost their jobs and reputation from these events. Because of McCarthy's accusations against particular groups of people, and existing high tensions from the ongoing Cold War in America, people were arrested and blacklisted by others for communism.…

    • 915 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Long before the advent of TV, movies offered viewers the glamour, romance, and sheer excitement that modern life seems to deny. So effective have movies been in molding audience desire that such early culture critic as Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer accused them of being part of a vast, Hollywood-centered “culture industry” whose products successfully distracted their audiences from the inequities of modern life and thus effectively maintained the social status under capitalism by drawing everyone’s attention away from it. Far…

    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A Decade Of Fear Analysis

    • 408 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Another example of how McCarthyism turned Americans against each other, is that even when those who were forced to come forward with names didn’t they risked being disapproved on from many. “ Some agreed to testify, while others invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Either way, they risked ostracism that could cost them friends, families, and careers. As journalist Victor Navasky wrote, the committee and its victims agreed on one thing: "The test for friend or foe was the willingness to inform." Many who would not cooperate with the investigating committees were blacklisted by potential employers and unable to work for many years. The playwrights Arthur Miller and Lillian Hellman, and the actors Charlie Chaplin, Zero Mostel, and Paul Robeson were among hundreds who were persecuted because of real or imagined Communist sympathies.”…

    • 408 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Movie Brats Case Study

    • 926 Words
    • 4 Pages

    An era that started off by breaking new ground and later become what would be a profitable era of block buster entertainment, New Hollywood is recognised as a period where some of the most revered directors rose and some of the most memorable films ever to come out of the American film industry were made, all thanks to a new generation of film makers that would later be known as the ‘Movie Brats’. But before Jaws and Star Wars, before the millions of dollars that were made, the box office records smashed, and…

    • 926 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The quote from the film ‘To be a spy on the side of freedom is an honor’ said by a member of a HUAC like committee implies that true American patriots are willing to spy on their friends. This brings forward the issue of doing what is best for the country or retaining and keeping safe a person’s individual freedom, which was a large debate amongst the people of America during this era. On the stand Howard is told that he must disclose one name and that he would be allowed go. The ending of the movie shows that even a self-centred character like Howard could see through corruption and evil being done by the HUAC. Howard has second thoughts and discovers unexpected courage when faced with this act of betrayal on the stand. While in the stand he refuses to give the committee a straight answer which brings a comedic element to this famous scene. He tells the committee that he does not ‘recognize the right of this committee to ask me these kind of questions’ and he leaves the room in an abrupt way. Again this shows the audience how the government was looking for people to turn on their friends. It reveals to the public the deception and shameless exploitation of the government’s power for use against public during the time of the black listings in Hollywood and with direct correspondance to ‘The Hollywood Ten’ ; where ‘10 motion-picture producers, directors, and screenwriters who appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee in October 1947, refused to answer questions regarding their possible communist affiliations, and, after spending time in prison for contempt of Congress, were mostly blacklisted by the Hollywood studios.’ (Encylopedia Britannica, 2017) . This film is a excellent depiction and gives a great insight into what actually occurred in American…

    • 1199 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Joseph Mccarthyism Dbq

    • 2071 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Once McCarthyism began to truly appeal to the average American citizen, Senator Joseph McCarthy began to go after different high ranking members of the United States government, popular film stars and directors and people within the education industry. The reason behind these calculated attacks were carefully brought out to strike fear into this upper class elite to show that these people are not untouchable. After exposing multiple cases involving film stars and directors, such as the “Hollywood Ten”, McCarthy began to truly build his legacy as the man who incited the Red Scare paranoia in the United…

    • 2071 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Red Scare Effect

    • 1522 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Usually, people cooperated, giving the answers the HUAC wanted out of a large fear that if they said the wrong thing, they would get blacklisted (put on a list of those accused of supporting Communism). Usually those blacklisted would be fired from the jobs they held, could not get re-hired anywhere, and were abandoned by friends and family. No one wanted to be associated with those on the blacklist, in fear they too would be accused of being a Communist or Communist supporter. Although this list was not limited to the media industry, most of its names came out of this industry. The media industry, and mostly those in the movie business, had primarily “leftist views.” Leftists, who may or may not support “Communism,” tended to have the same line of thinking and similar views. The amount of people with these views in one industry made the HUAC nervous. The HUAC also targeted the film industry because they feared that subversive propaganda could be brought to the general public through communists high up in the industry (“Hollywood Ten”). This idea was also fueled by the fact that unlike today,…

    • 1522 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Senator Joseph R. McCarthy investigated in any assertions to communism or any arguments made to discredit them mostly involved in the Hollywood Industry, clubs, organizations, and government officials. Because of Miller’s play expressing the views that were opposing to the HUAC, he became a target. In the 1956, Arthur miller was charged with contempt of congress by refusing to give the names of people suspected to be communists. McCarthy forced his power of intimidation and fear on to whoever disagreed with him by damaging multiple reputations and careers. McCarthy and the HUAC actions continued until more people began to question the honesty of both him and HUAC around the late 1950 's. Miller was fined and given a suspended sentence with the conviction overturned by 1958. There is interesting similarities between both of their society’s unjustified court cases. “There were no trials, there was no need for evidence, and there was no semblance of justice. The accused was considered already guilty, regardless of any personal defense, and was encouraged to comply with HUAC and accuse others. As in Salem, anyone could be accused and called before the committee (…

    • 895 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Truman Red Scare Essay

    • 548 Words
    • 3 Pages

    HUAC’s investigations normally focused on exposing Communists working inside of the government or the Hollywood film industry. Because of taking heat from all of the negative publicity pointed to their studios, movie producers created blacklists, which prevented suspected radicals from employment. Similar blacklists were created in other…

    • 548 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Noted to be one of the most highly controversial movies of its time, another simple yet thought invoking question is presented, which is why? Why was a film that displayed a…

    • 3314 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Whilst there were Actors, Writers, Directors and others who were involved in the film industry and who openly stated that they were or had been communists they were of no threat to the US Government. Many moderates in Hollywood didn’t understand what communism really was or the intentions of hardline communists in New York. Meaning Hollywood’s threat would have only been felt through the foreign propaganda that hijacked the names of the famous to portray as communism as a popular movement. Propaganda that given the political climate of the 1940s & 50s in the US, would have been dismissed by the public almost instantly. Instead of such a scenario being identified by the HUAC the Committee’s enquires were driven by the FBI who benefited if the political narrative was one where Hollywood had been turned by communism as it served their own purposes. In essence Hollywood did pose a threat of being used as a propaganda tool, but the threat to the domestic security of the United States was minimal. Thus the perceived communist threat during the 1940s and 50s became a red herring for the HUAC and the American people only increasing the fear of communism within public…

    • 1199 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Joseph McCarthy was the senator of Wisconsin from 1947-1957. During this time, America and the Soviet Union were involved in the Cold War. All throughout America, the Red Scare was in full swing, and the fear of communism was strong. McCarthy knew this, and used it to his advantage while re-running for his senate position. As part of his anti-communist campaign, McCarthy claimed that the Soviets had high-profile spies in the government. He then accused 205 people in the government and entertainment industry of being communists. This list of people was known as the Hollywood Blacklist. Those who were Blacklisted often lost their jobs and reputation, and were forced to give names of other…

    • 1047 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Gary D Rhodes Movie

    • 946 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Gary D. Rhodes of Queen’s University Belfast challenges many current conceptions about Hollywood in his work “ ‘Movie’: How a Single Word Shaped Hollywood Cinema.” Specifically, Rhodes argues that the audience has power over the corporation in this industry. He explains how the word “movie” is a major representation if this idea. Rhodes presents this argument because he has seen how common it has become to accuse corporate Hollywood of finessing it’s viewers. However, Rhodes pushes the idea that the audience is responsible for the way that Hollywood cinema works today.…

    • 946 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays