The McCarthy Era

Paper Summary:

The paper shows how McCarthyism was intimately inter-connected with financial motives, career aspirations and politics. The paper demonstrates the effects McCarthyism had on media, films, plays and books, as seen by the enormous popularity of films such as "War of the Worlds." The paper looks at how some aspects of popular culture actively resisted McCarthyism, with Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible" as an example of this.

From the Paper:

"McCarthyism was essentially a fervent anti-Communist movement, headed up by Senator Joseph McCarthy (who was a Republican Senator from Wisconsin from 1947 to 1957). In the first half of the decade of the 1950s, a wave of accusations were levelled against politicians, government employees and other people. The accusations alleged Communist sympathies, or Communist party membership, and many resulted in public hearings by the government-appointed House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), run by McCarthy. Those who were accused often lost their jobs, or had their lives and/or reputations ruined in other ways, due to the widespread fear of Communism at this time. It is unclear whether McCarthy did this out of a genuine fear of Communism, or whether it was a cynical career-boosting ploy, although most historians incline to the latter view. (Edelstein)"

Sample of Sources Used:

• Alley, Robert S. Handbook of American Popular Culture: Propaganda-Women. 2nd Rev. ed. Vol. 3. New York: Greenwood Press, 1989.
• Avila, Eric. Popular Culture in the Age of White Flight: Fear and Fantasy in Suburban Los Angeles. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2004.
• Clurman, Harold. "The Success Dream on the American Stage." In Weales, Gerald, (ed). Death of a Salesman: Text and Criticism, 212-216.
• Edelstein, Alex S. Total Propaganda: From Mass Culture to Popular Culture. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1997.
• Haskin, Byron. (Director). War of the Worlds. Paramount Pictures, 1953.

More papers on The McCarthy Era:

• Term Paper # 129289 : "McCarthy's Communist Witch Hunt"
• Comparison Essay # 73797 : "The Crucible"
• Book Review # 66178 : "A Study in Hysterics: "The Age of McCarthyism"

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