The Hollywood Blacklist (Essay Sample)

Student’s Name Professor’s Name Course Date The Hollywood Blacklist The Hollywood era is a period of uncertainty and political anguish between the mid-1940 and the 60s. During these years, actors, screenwriters, and directors were under scrutiny and occasionally required to answer the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) (Tobin 87). The role of HUAC was to interrogate individuals suspected of supporting communist beliefs. Members of the entertainment fraternity found guilty of being communist party members were required to bring forward other names or never participate in any Hollywood productions. Additionally, those that failed to comply were jailed or forced to work in secrecy. The events of the denylist were detrimental and played a significant role in damaging many careers. However, the era has continued to provide significance through studying historical occurrences and the content produced despite the bans. Notwithstanding, the Hollywood blacklist was a response to the growing popularity of the American communist party. The stage for the communist shakedown in Hollywood was after the German invasion of the Soviet Union (McCann 3). Due to the civil wrangles between America and the communist movement, HUAC was to curb the spread of antagonistic beliefs. Therefore, HUAC operated by identifying and subjecting people to rigorous questioning regarding their communist affiliations. The outcome of the HUAC meetings saw many crucial members, who were referred to as the Hollywood ten, of the film industry blacklisted. These events severely impacted the industry since the freedom of creativity was inhibited. Additionally, it also meant reduced funding due to fears of investment loss. Due to these facets, the era set the political precedent for Hollywood since only non-communist content was allowed viewership. Lester Cole is one of the screenwriters in the “Hollywood ten” group that got banned after non-compliance with HUAC. According to Marcus (100), Cole was delisted in 1947 and was imprisoned for months when he refused to testify before HUAC. Before Cole’s incarceration and blacklisting, he had begun his Hollywood career as an actor cum writer. Additionally, Cole was an avid director and made his debut as a screenwriter in the 1932 comedy film “If I Had a Million” (Redfern 25). However, Cole became entwined with the Hollywood ten when he joined the US communist party, which led to his brush with the Roosevelt administration. After Cole’s arrest and jail term, he continued working on screenplays under an alias after giving up a contradictory script. Cole’s career after the Hollywood ten incident got skewed since he had to leave the US for the UK. During Cole’s stay in the UK, he engaged in non-film work until his return. As mentioned above, Cole returned to Hollywood under an alias and continued to screenwriter. Later on, Cole topped his career by writing his biography. In addition, Cole is a founding member of the writers guild of America and a supporter of the Mexican revolution (Franco 80). However, despite Cole’s contribution t...