Module 02 Discussion 2 - McCarthyism

Define the "McCarthyism". Explain how this term was created. How did McCarthyism affect Hollywood during the cold war era?

Please respond to other student's post!

By. Mr. Miller

"McCarthyism" is the term used to describe the practice of making allegations of treason or other acts of subversion without proper evidence to support it. The term stems from the effort of Senator Joseph McCarthy in the early 1950's to identify alleged Communists working within the government and other institutions. The public identification led for many of these individuals to lose their jobs or be blacklisted, despite the fact that there was no evidence to prove that they were members of the Communist party.  

The search for Communists in Hollywood had started even before McCarthy rose to prominence with the "Hollywood Ten" in 1947, a list of workers in the film industry who were purported to be Communist sympathizers. But McCarthy's efforts really got this movement going as hundreds of additional individuals were identified and blacklisted. For many, their careers never recovered. Dalton Trumbo, one of the original "Hollywood Ten," would write seventeen movies during the 1950's, but wouldn't receive credit for any of them due to being blacklisted. Kirk Douglas argued for his writing credit to be reinstated for the movie "Spartacus" in 1960, a fact that was again brought up during the Golden Globes a few days ago when they were honoring Douglas.