Because of the desire to keep the integrity of the American society, the fear for the Red Plague, as known as the communists, has been cultivated in the United States for decades. Despite the fact that the United States were rather distanced from the Soviet Union, the Communist ideas were to be crushed in the bud. In spite of the fact that the American government was guided by the noblest ideas of protecting the nation, at certain point these fears reached absurdity and turned into paranoia.
It is quite obvious that the fear of Communism had several faces, each revealing another facet of people’s attitude towards the Party. Driven to the edge with the fear for the future of the country, people were literally haunted by the fear. Seeing the shapes which Communism could take in the American society, people were grasped by an overwhelming fear.
One of the most typical shapes in which Communism was perceived in the U. S. was brilliantly demonstrated by the author of I Married a Communist. With help of few phrases and gestures Ryan managed to convey the very spirit of the distanced era of witch-hunting. In the scene with the reporter Vanning, Mr. Collins (Ryan) learns a story about a man who could be described as a typical good-for-nothing: no education, no prospective job, no life. “He was a Communist”, mentions Vanning rather matter-of-factly, thus meaning that being a Communist meant being anti-American.
However, not all movies were so explicit in their desire to disgrace Communism in the eyes of the Americans. Another movie, I Was a Communist for the FBI – to be more precise, a radio broadcast which was further on developed into a movie – deals with the tricky issue in a more delicate way. However, it is the spirit of adventure that is left in the film for the audience to be enthralled by the action.
One can trace the change in the American’s conscience comparing the two movies. As the storyline unfolds, it becomes clear that the film positions the lead character as an anti-hero, which already means that there was a change in the American idea of Communism. However, the dominating feeling of fear for the Red Plague remained in its place: “Sometimes living a double life brings death just twice as close” (I Was a Communist for the FBI). In addition, there is a shade of mystic about the leader of the party and his powers that the entire story is shot through with: “Never mind what you think. Let the comrades believe you it was a suicide” (I Was a Communist for the FBI).
Compared to the ideas expressed by Heale, the movies are obviously exaggerating the power of Communism, thus making the fear for the Red Plague grow stronger:
Communists – and the others who could not bring themselves to execute loyalty oaths – were becoming the victims of the widespread conviction that the CP was part of an international conspiracy directed from Moscow, and of the competition as politicians and others in American public life thought to demonstrate their patriotism (Heale 149)
Thus, it is evident that the fear for the Communists finally turned into a national paranoia for the U. S. In contrast to the both movies, the book is rather a summary of the score for the war against the Communism. Unfortunately, Heale notes, the “war” triggered a number of undesirable consequences, numerous ungrounded convictions and only encouraged people to beware the Red threat. Triggering the notorious witch hunt, the fighting against Communists had its effect on the national consciousness. Threatened by the danger of the Red Plague, people were driven almost paranoiacs, which the both films and the book witness. A sad experience from the past, this is a good reason to blaze a trail to the future without making the same mistakes again.
Works Cited
Heale, Michael J. American Anticommunism: Combating the Enemy Within, 1830 1970. Baltimor, MD: JHU, 1990. Print.
I Married a Communist. Dir Robert Stevenson. Perf. Larianne Day, Robert Ryan. RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. 1949. Film.
I Was a Communist for the FBI. Dir. Douglas, Gordon.Perf. Doroty Hart, Paul Picerni, Frank Lovejoy. Warner Bros., 1952. Film.