The Significance of Studying the Relationship between Hollywood and the Red Scare

It is apparent from critical readings of Congressional documents and numerous other outside sources that the Red Scare polices of the United States government to combat communism in Hollywood reflect wider political and social policies in place during the 1950s.

During this era, Hollywood became one of the most fiercely targeted areas by the United States government. In efforts to quash the growing threat of communism, vast numbers of artists were investigated by the federal government for their participation in, support of, or association with the American Communist Party. Approximately 300 were officially blacklisted, and were banned from working in Hollywood for the foreseeable future. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and former communists-turned-testifiers detail how the Communist Party was able to infiltrate Hollywood through unions and guilds, thereby cementing themselves within the circle of the Hollywood elite. But as the menace of communism grew, so too did anti-communist organizations who championed a strong American home life as a means to defeat the Red Menace. As the Red Scare steadily increased throughout the decade, having an association with a suspected communist became almost synonymous with being a communist. Artists who were associated with communists suddenly were unable to find work, having been unofficially blacklisted because of their ‘red connections.’ The fear of being associated with communism lead to a moral panic across Hollywood and across the United States, as Americans seriously feared that they could be targeted if they had any association with a suspected communist.

However, there was a substantial pushback against the actions of the United States government. Many investigations by the federal government were labeled ‘witch-hunts’ or ‘Red-baiting’, and numerous Hollywood figures boycotted the Congressional investigations. Films made during this time on the subject of communism often portrayed anti-communist actions as the plot of a B-movie thriller, refusing to take seriously the activities of the federal government. A common theme throughout the Red Scare in Hollywood was the assertion that a strong home life of every American citizen would spell the defeat of communism. This was a sentiment held by most of the American population, who believed that domestic containment could do more for the American anti-communist cause than any investigation of the federal government could.

This brief overview of the relationship between the Red Scare policies of the federal government and Hollywood reflects the wider socio-political goings – on of the time. The federal government led numerous investigations on subversive individuals, which led to great public outcry and a moral panic among the populous. Americans throughout the nation believed that if they could contain their homes in the proper American fashion, they were doing their part to protect their country from the menace of communism. Hollywood can truly serve as a microcosm of the Red Scare throughout the United States witnessed through the official Congressional records of the House Committee on Un-American Activities. These documents highlight the official federal policies of the anti-communist crusade and give insight into the broader social fears and anti-communist movements that dominated American thoughts and actions during the 1950s.