By Steven J. Ross
In Hollywood Left and correct, Steven J. Ross tells a narrative that has escaped public recognition: the emergence of Hollywood as an important heart of political lifestyles and the $64000 function that motion picture stars have performed in shaping the process American politics. Ever because the movie relocated to Hollywood early within the 20th century, it has had an oversized impact on American politics. via compelling larger-than-life figures in American cinema--Charlie Chaplin, Louis B. Mayer, Edward G. Robinson, George Murphy, Ronald Reagan, Harry Belafonte, Jane Fonda, Charlton Heston, Warren Beatty, and Arnold Schwarzenegger--Hollywood Left and correct finds how the movie industry's engagement in politics has been longer, deeper, and extra diversified than most folks might think. As proven in alternating chapters, the Left and the appropriate each one received ascendancy in Tinseltown at varied instances. From Chaplin, whose videos as a rule displayed his leftist convictions, to Schwarzenegger's approximately seamless transition from motion blockbusters to the California governor's mansion, Steven J. Ross strains the intersection of Hollywood and political activism from the early 20th century to the current. Hollywood Left and correct demanding situations the generally held trust that Hollywood has constantly been a bastion of liberalism. the true tale, as Ross exhibits during this passionate and enjoyable paintings, is way extra complex. First, Hollywood has an extended heritage of conservatism than liberalism. moment, and so much spectacular, whereas the Hollywood Left used to be often extra vocal and visual, the ideal had a better impression on American political lifestyles, shooting a senate seat (Murphy), a governorship (Schwarzenegger), and the final word success, the Presidency (Reagan).
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Extra resources for Hollywood Left and Right: How Movie Stars Shaped American Politics
Sample text
Casting aside his aversion to organized political activity, Chaplin joined with Hollywood Communists such as Lillian Hellman and Donald Ogden Stewart, and progressives such as Groucho Marx, in lending his name to the Authors’ League for Sinclair. 49 More willing to speak out publicly, he nevertheless saved his sharpest pronouncements for the medium he knew best. The actor-director-writer shifted his cinematic attacks from the local scene to the national and, finally, THE FIRST POLITICAL MOVIE STAR • 33 to the international.
And the Communist mother is the same as any other mother. When she receives the tragic news that her sons will not return, she weeps as other mothers weep. I don’t have to be a Communist to know that. 64 Chaplin had caught speech fever. Five days later, he was the featured speaker at a Russian war relief rally in Los Angeles. In the coming months, he spoke at pro-Russian gatherings in several cities. That July, he gave a fourteen-minute speech calling for a second front that was broadcast via radio to a mass meeting of 60,000 trade unionists and their allies at Madison Square Garden.
Chaplin found Berlin equally ravaged by war. ”33 Charlie left Europe on October 18 with mixed feelings. He was pleased at being welcomed into the world of intellectual elites but unnerved by what he saw. “If I could only do something,” he wrote in his memoir. ” But he was only an actor. What could he do? Chaplin returned home more willing to endorse radical ideas and organizations. 34 THE FIRST POLITICAL MOVIE STAR • 27 Although the star’s political awareness continued to evolve over the decade, he still preferred private conversations to public pronouncements, for such venues never put him at financial risk.
