Hollywood Blacklist Influence On Cinematic History
624 Words3 Pages
Throughout the history of film making there have been numerous incidents that greatly influenced cinematic history. Two of these instances were the Paramount decision and the Hollywood blacklist. In the following essay I will describe these two events and how they in turn changed the direction of film industry.
In the beginnings of American Cinema the business was booming. The studio system created a business superpower with holdings all across the U.S. These holdings for Studios came in the form of cinemas that they controlled across the country. Studios were creating movies to show in their cinemas; not creating cinemas to show their movies. Because the studios owned the majority of cinemas other cinemas were being pushed out of business…show more content… At the end of World War II fear of communism gripped the country. This fear crept into every aspect of life including the film industry. The government was concerned with communist influence in Hollywood, and because of their worry they summoned 19 studio employees to examine and question. Only ten of these nineteen actually were used to testify and they became the notable “Hollywood Ten”. These men refused to directly answer whether they were involved in communism or not, and on November 25, 1947 these ten men were indicted (Paraphrase, American Film, Lewis, P.197-200). This began the time of the Hollywood Blacklist where studios began to fill the blacklist and have the opportunity to exploit their power. The studios blacklisted “Over three hundred writers, directors, producers, and actors... between 1947 and 1957” (American Film, Lewis, P.200). Blacklisting created a surrounding uneasiness and uncertainty in Hollywood that coincided with the overall feel of alienation after World War II. As the studios continued to blacklist people, sometimes for no apparent reason, an ongoing tension was created that still continues today between “Hollywood management and talent” (American Film, Lewis, P.200). This tension adversely affected Hollywood, and changed the former mindset of the golden age into one of distrust and