Essay Sample on Hollywood Throughout American History

How Did Hollywood Respond to Fascism?

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It is evident from the movie that Hollywood was largely against fascism and as a result, most prominent personalities and actors in Hollywood did all they can including mobilizing other fellow actors to thwart any efforts by the Nazis to establish fascism in America. In fact, all the Hollywood studios except the Warner Brothers Studio were against fascism. In response, most Hollywood was used as forums and platforms to speak against fascism. Any form of anti-Nazism propaganda was banned in all Hollywood-produced films.

How did Hollywood respond to communism?

Communists were apparently slowly finding their way into American institutions where they established and oversaw subversive activities. Reading from the movie, it can be established that Hollywood largely embraced communism. For instance, a number of actors attached to Hollywood were communists who though communism was fashionable and prestigious to be associated with, especially when one felt depressed. The temptations to embrace communism eventually attracted several idealists who strongly held to it that communism was the only way to make America better than it was at the moment. As a result therefore, the house of congress faced relatively hard time investigating who the propagators of communism in Hollywood were and what their actual motives was. One thing to note is that Hollywood actors seemed united in whatever step they took.

What stood out to you most from this video?

One outstanding thing that I really liked from the video is the audacity and boldness with which the Hollywood confronted the Nazi writers and even directors who continuously propagated enmity within the actors community. At the start, most Hollywood actors were tolerant of such propaganda. Eventually, when they could bear no more, they came together, especially during the elections for the HUAC chairman, an event in which Rep. Samuel Dickstein was unfairly bypassed, they joined hands and faced the problem at hand. I am particularly pleased with the unity and commonness amongst Hollywood actors. Most of their success is attributed to the fact they had a common on stance on most issues that affected them and thus didnt fight individually but as representative of the oppressed lot.

From what you've just learned, do you feel the politics and religion in Hollywood of the Golden Age are either similar or different from what you see today?"

There is significant difference between politics and religion in Hollywood of the Golden Age what we see today. In Hollywood, theatre and art was not only a place to show acting talent but a powerful platform onto which actors could criticize, condemn or even engage authorities over what they felt was dire violation of their rights and privileges. Hollywood thus remains important in the history of American politics as it clearly brings out the crucial roles played by American actors in the shaping of American politics.

In modern and current day theatre, there is little influence of modern actors on the political stature of American politics. For instance, several bodies and authorities have been instituted to monitor asses and certify all theatre productions before such productions are finally released to the public. Anything that is perceived to be against the ruling doctrine is thus edited out and thus theatrical criticism of ruling authorities has been greatly denied.