Hollywood and The Red Scare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Hollywood and The Red Scare - Essay ExampleIn the end, it was the enemy from within acting as the provinces protector that caused hardships for many Americans and not communism. The most evident example of this exploitation for individualal gains comes from Hollywood due to its high up profile status.In 1950, what had been a largely ineffectual and obscure U.S. Senator, who was riddled with bribery scandals, gave a wrangle in West Virginia that would make him a powerful and famous legislator. Senator Joseph McC crafthy told those gathered at the Republican Womens Club The State Department is infested with Communists. (Roberts, 2010). He further claimed to possess 205 names of known, avowed communists who were working for the U.S. State Department. This was untrue but the speech served its purpose, by shifting the accusing public spotlight from him to others. Soon afterward the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) began hearings in an effort to root-out communist sympathi zers and subversives.HUAC began by art to testify movie stars and moguls who the government knew were staunchly anti-communist such as Louis B Mayer, Jack earner, Robert Taylor, Gary Cooper and Walt Disney, a movie making icon that was certain Commies were attempting to dilapidation his business and his good name. Disney was eager to offer names of suspected communist. He even went as far as to make wild, unsubstantiated assumptions of a person being communist due to this individual having no religion and had spent considerable time at the Moscow Art Theatre studying art direction, or something. (Rad, 2009) It was later discovered Disney had been an FBI informant from the time WWII ended until his death in the mid 1960s. An opposition group called the Committee for the First Amendment protested the congressional investigations. Among the groups members were high profile Hollywood celebrities such as Lucille Ball, Lauren Bacall, Gene Kelly and Humphrey Bogart.The