The incident started in the year of 1947 at the time of independence of two countries of Pakistan and India. In October 1947, ten members highlighted the policy followed by the House Un-American Activities Committee. They denounced the tactics followed by the house of the Un-American Activities Committee also known as HUAC. The investigation was carried out with the passage of time which highlighted the fact that there was an effect of the communist influence in the tactics followed by HUAC. American motion picture business was getting under the influence of communists with every passing day. After this analysis, these ten major screenwriters and directors were then names as Hollywood ten. They were further banned from working in the Hollywood studios. Their defiant stands also placed them at centre stage in a national debate over the controversial anti-communist crackdown that swept through the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s. After the famous Hollywood ten, there were more from the Action industry who were banned from the big movie studios afterwards. This blacklisting then came to an end in the time of 1960s (Athan G. Theoharis, 1999).
The actual crime or nastiness included in The Hollywood Ten Trials included the threats from the communists. In this perspective, Disney was the first one to confirm about the threat of the communists. Besides this, Disney mentioned some of the specific names as well which were a threat to the industry at that time. As soon as the investigation started, the investigation started with the hearings of Walt Disney and Ronald Reagan. Another crime highlighted by Reagan was the steer union policy being employed from the past few years in the industry. This steer union policy was using ‘communist like tactics’ in the industry (Athan G. Theoharis, 1999). However, when the hearing for Reagan was carried out, he did not mention any name since according to him their power was greater than any other source of the community available at that moment. Reagan had to suffer from marital issues after the hearing which eventually led to the divorce of the actor afterwards.
As soon as the crimes and the communist acts started to increase, the rate of selling people also increased. At that time a local paper mentioned the names of the communist as well. He communist was Hayden. Another incident that needs to be highlighted in this perspective is the coming back of Bogart who after coming back to Hollywood shouted at Danny saying that he was the one behind selling him. Seeing the increase in the death rate of the people being killed during the trials and investigations, Warner brother decided to distance themselves from the Hollywood ten. On their decision of distancing themselves, Bogart gave his reviews that they are foolish and naïve since they are backing out of fear. Billy Wilder, however, focused on figuring their way back in the industry. The sanctions of this act came out in the form of jail and as well as fines. The banning of Hollywood ten from the industry ended the career of these ten screenwriters involved.
Nicole rafter while mentioning the entrance of criminology in the movies explained the theories which apply to the Hollywood ten scenarios. One of the most highlighted theories was the theory of Hay code (Athan G. Theoharis, 1999). He applied a set of questions on the working of the Hollywood en scenario. These set of questions highlighted what caused the ten screenwriters and directors to change their way. It was found out that society plays an essential part in filmmaking. All the directors and screenwriters involved were influenced by the society in the form of the communists. Hay codes figured that the cinematic code of representation leaves the people to find out such things in their environment as well. Cultural anxiety and the political controversies are some of the consequences figured out with the help of Hay code in the set of Hollywood ten. Besides this, the application of Hay codes to the filmmakers highlighted that crime doesn’t pay however it makes the situation worse for the country in many ways. The theory believes that the outcome of the scenario should be strict since the strictness at that time would have presented the outcomes in the future.
In the present time, many of the filmmakers have learned from the experience of the Hollywood ten. These experiences have highlighted the importance that crime is not a factor that needs to be portrayed. No doubt that the accurate portrayal of crimes makes the spectators fascinated towards them. This fascination and learning aspects were highlighted by many of the filmmakers in their films. These writers were Rafter (2006), Leitch (2002), and Young (2009). (WITTES, 1999)These directors not only highlighted the crime but highlighted the solution to this crime as well. In this way, the spectators not only came to know about the issues going on but the solution that needs to be implemented as a community in the society for the betterment of the country.
To sum up, the Hollywood ten trials was a lesson for many of the filmmakers of the present time. These filmmakers gave a path to the present filmmakers which they should not follow. Crime is not a good thing to be portrayed but the actual issues lies in the fascinated portrayal of the crime. Crime should be pictured with its solution.
References
Athan G. Theoharis. (1999). A Lawless Agency: The FBI and the “Hollywood Ten”. Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 2(3), 415-430. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/rap.2010.0128
WITTES, J. (1999). Ten Most Commonly Asked Questions about Statistical Analysis of Clinical Trials. Cardiology In Review, 7(1), 5-8. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00045415-199901000-00008
