One of the most infamous American events preceding the Cold War era, the Hollywood Ten were a small group of ten "good liberal" movie directors, screenplay writers and actors who were deemed guilty, not of wrongdoing, but of wrong thinking. You see, they were all members of the American Communist party at the time, and these trials all occurred during the late 40's, right as the Communist paranoia began to affect Americans. Essentially, for harboring their own beliefs as any American is free to, their civil liberties as employed Hollywood humans were revoked entirely, and even in jeopardy, from the U.S. supreme court, who refused to hear their cases, and from Congress, who cited them all for contempt. They had one of two options, however, as their trials came to light. Given a second option by the Hollywood Committee for the First Amendment, this group of politicians and film producers dug into the First Amendment and determined that it not only entailed freedom of speech, but also the right to remain silent. As such, none of the Hollywood Ten gave the courts any response when asked if they were Communists. This ability to stand steadfast did end up costing them all of their jobs, and many of them also went to prison for some time. What was truly cruel, however, was after managing to regain their jobs, they were forced to wait ten, some even 20 years before they could create or write movies without using pseudonyms or metaphors. Not only was this incident one of the most famous American Court cases of its time, but it stands as a foundation to not only the beginning of the era of blacklisting, but also to the genuine American paranoia, and the discovery of the right to remain silent. All of these factors helped to make sure that this event would never be forgotten by anyone with power, be it those with creative powers or those with the power to attempt taking it away.
For more information on this series of trials, visit the link below:
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