Communism In Hollywood Essay

During the 1940s and 1950s the threat of communism within the Hollywood film and entertainment industry was greatly overstated. During the time that the House Un-American Activities Committee was active the U.S population was in the midst of a intense anti-communism movement in response to the Cold War. The HUAC with the support of public opinion was able to question almost any individual without negative backlash. This wild questioning of anyone when linked with the close connections between Federal Beau of Investigation and HUAC created what is historically viewed as a ‘witch hunt’ against communists. However, despite the fact that this threat of communist subversion was much overstated there is still some evidence of underhand activities, …show more content…
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