McCarthyism

To what extent does hypocrisy affect society? Hypocrisy is normally seen as a personal issue and it’s societal impacts are often overlooked. During the Salem witch trials, hypocrisy played a huge role in the hangings of 19 people. It created mass hysteria, which deeply affected how Salem’s societal values were interpreted. Hypocrisy is ultimately responsible for the events in Salem and The Crucible, as characters try to cover up their own flaws with lies, leading to innocent people being hanged…

The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, is set in the 1600s, dramatizing the witch trials hysteria in Salem, Massachusetts. In the play, Arthur Miller has demonstrated the role of women in that society through a number of techniques. The actions of women in the play were shown to have outside influences rather than reflect their true nature. Arthur Miller presented the idea that beliefs, expectations and stereotypes had an effect on the behaviour of women. Religion played an important…

In author Arthur Miller’s article, “Are You Now or Were You Ever?”, the traumatic anti-communist trials of the 1950’s that took place in American society are thoroughly described. Miller’s purpose is to provide a clear picture of events and behaviors that emerged during this turbulent time period. He adopts a contemplative and didactic tone in order to make his audience reflect on the effects of their actions in order to not permit history to repeat itself. Miller presents his argument that…

Hundreds of people falsely accused of believing in something they may not even believe in. This happened in the book The Crucible and during the Red Scare. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an allegory for the Red Scare in the McCarthy era because they both revolve around false accusations and differing opinions or beliefs. These false accusations lead to people being wrongly questioned and left them living in fear simply due to their opinion and beliefs. In the Mccarthy era, and in the book The…

Good Night, and Good Luck, the words uttered for every CBS news segment by broadcaster Edward R. Murrow. This black and white film produced in 2005 and directed by George Clooney, portrays the difficult decisions of the news and media outlets during the early 1950's Red Scare. An event that was brought on by Senator Joseph McCarthy who terrified individuals both communist and not communist affiliated. Edward R. Murrow wanted to expose the unjust actions of Senator Joseph McCarthy, and once he…

Joseph McCarthy and Margaret Chase Smith were both Republican Senators that had strong opinions about communism. Even though they were both anti-communism, their opinions on communism in the USA were completely opposite of one another. In Senator McCarthy’s Lincoln Day speech to the Republican Women’s Club of Wheeling, West Virginia, he talked about how he thought his fellow senators needed to realize that communism is a quickly rising issue, while Senator Smith refutes McCarthy in her…

After reading the texts, “To what extent did the Cold War shape the American domestic life of the 1950s?”, and “Monsters Are Due on Maple Street”, written by Rod Serling. I discovered that Rod Serling never specifically cites the Cold War in his teleplay “Monsters”. Yet Mr. Serling portrayed throughout the story to illustrate a picture of paranoia, distrust, and fear that created an atmosphere of the United States during the Cold War. To begin with, the setting in the beginning of the of both…

Fear can drive people to their extremes. Many people live in fear of their government and/ or other personal controlling in their society. Some people believe that the government is always right and that they do not lie. The government can cause “accidents” to happen and frame it on other ethnic cultures which cause a society to rely on the government. Fear causes suspicion, terror, and a government that is controlling popular belief. For a safe and civilized society fear tactics are necessary…

During the Golden Age of Hollywood, studios controlled not only the resources of production but also how the films were released. The most prominent of these studios, known as “The Big Five,” consisted of Paramount Pictures, RKO, Warner Brothers, Fox, and Loew’s Incorporated. Again, during that time, they controlled the development, production, and distribution of films which lead to the studio system. The Paramount decision, stemming from the United States Supreme Court Hollywood Antitrust Case…

The 1950s were a time wrought with anxiety about Communism and those who committed actions that were seen as “un-American.” The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigated average citizens who were thought to have Communist affiliations, but they frequently went after those in the entertainment industry. In addition to those in the entertainment industry, Jewish people found themselves targeted by other Americans. At this time around 50 to 60 anti-Semitic groups existed and Jewish…