Reel History: U. S.

History, 1932-1972, as Viewed through the Lens of Hollywood

Author(s): Ron Briley
Source: The History Teacher , May, 1990, Vol. 23, No. 3 (May, 1990), pp. 215-236
Published by: Society for History Education

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/494857

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Reel History:
U.S. History, 1932-1972, As Viewed Through the Lens
of Hollywood

Ron Briley
Sandia Preparatory School

FOR THOSE OF US WHO ATTENDED COLLEGE IN THE 1960s it

is indeed a sobering experience to encounter high school students who
view both the Vietnam War and the Peloponnesian War as ancient history.
World War II and Pearl Harbor are sometimes confused with the Vietnam
conflict, while knowledge of the Great Depression is derived solely from
recollections furnished by grandparents. The challenge for an American
history teacher examining the period from 1932 to the present (which, in
a survey course, is often covered superficially at the end of the year) is not
only to provide some understanding and analysis of this chaotic period,
but also to convey to the student the fervor, despair, excitement, and hope
of this crucial time in our history. One approach to making recent
American history come alive is examining the Hollywood feature film as
reflecting and influencing the varying moods and values of the country.
Certainly film is a subject which adolescents, who comprise the most
influential element of today's film audience, understand.
For the last five years I have had the opportunity to use this approach
in teaching a senior elective course entitled "U.S. History, 1932-1972, As
Viewed Through the Lens of Hollywood." Consideration of such topics

The History Teacher Volume 23 Number 3 May 1990

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216 Ron Briley

as civil rights, V
society extends b
ever, ending the
the Vietnam Wa
distance for the
films of the late
offer contempor
early 1970s allow
events focus. So t
site of an Americ
and discussions o
history, as well
over each film vi
paper, a film scr
short film.
The film class is
Seven periods of
weekly. A typica
discussions, read
Wednesday three
which should shed
under study. Thu
placing it in hist
assignments of a
consider Hollywo
historical analy
allowing one to b
have shown films
period, although
continuity is lost
students who are
teachers from in
film.
While sixteen-m
reasons, the vide
affordable for th
to discourage fi
renting their fil
advisable in a fil
format. However
1960s and 1970s
subjects as sex,

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Reel History: U.S. History Through the Lens of Hollywood 217

elective, and students, as well as parents, are forewarned of the cont

In fact, the inclusion of explicit material may be a very good teach
device for learning about American history, especially when conside
the differences in Hollywood's treatment of gender, race, and c
between the 1930s and 1970s. If handled in a mature fashion, such exp
material should present no problem, and in a time when so m
controversy surrounds such issues as textbooks, I have had few com
plaints over film selections.
A number of fine books are available for film history courses, althoug
there is a need for a one-volume text which would analyze American
in a chronological and historical context for the period between 1930
the present. Most film books are specialized treatments of specific ge
or narrow time periods, and are not necessarily geared for classroom
A number of fine texts on recent American history are available, but
narrative historical background I have used William Manchester's T
Glory and the Dream (Bantam, 1974). For placing films in their histo
and cultural context, I have usually relied on the following works: P
Roffman and Jim Purdy, The Hollywood Social Problem Film: Madn
Despair, and Politics from the Depression to the Fifties (Indiana Univ
sity Press, 1981); Peter Biskind, Seeing is Believing: How Hollyw
Taught Us to Stop Worrying and Love the Fifties (Pantheon, 1983);
Peter C. Rollins, ed., Hollywood as Historian: American Film i
Cultural Context (University of Kentucky Press, 1983). David Bordw
and Kristin Thompson's Film Art (Addison Wesley, 1980) has served
an excellent introduction to film techniques.
Although I consider myself a historian and have no aspiration to b
filmmaker, I find it essential to spend the first couple of weeks in
course teaching students how to "read" a film. Visual literacy is neces
in our media-saturated society, and the visual elements of a film req
investigation. A film, like any art form, is more than just the sum o
parts. Teaching the grand military strategy of the Civil War witho
investigating any specific battles would hardly be a satisfactory appr
for the history teacher. Accordingly, it is unacceptable for the fil
historian to study only the ideology of a film while ignoring its v
components. Film history students must be made aware of such conc
as mise-en-scene, depth cues, mobile framing, the 180-degree system
continuity editing, nondiegetic insert, and displaced diegetic sound.
terminology may appear threatening for the teacher who would like to u
film in history courses, but there is really no need for fear. These t
simply describe elements which film viewers have witnessed on num
ous occasions. For example, displaced diegetic sound "may recall
earlier scene through the repetition of sound from that scene while

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218 Ron Briley

images on the sc
Film Art, p. 284
Leigh) in an earli
in the bank. Inste
behind the wheel
voice of her bos
This is also a sect
to the teacher w
have some student
juncture. Studen
from contempora
is Revenge of th
techniques. Many
anyway. But rathe
the students can
are thus able to
indeed, many form
commercials, and
After establishi
move into the m
film in historica
new insights int
should not be c
vocabulary and v
and students to a
angle may conve
For analyzing the
selection by the t
in the remainder
yet most importa
as the teacher has
his own films. O
films on videoca
increasing every
I divide the cours
from the 1930s,
these works and s
four segments
(including deba
creation of the p
1950s, and the br
should be apparen

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Reel History: U.S. History Through the Lens of Hollywood 219

consensus and conflict in American history may be illuminated by

examining the Hollywood film. One important note must be attached here.
In the analysis of conflict and consensus it is essential to consider wha
groups were left out of Hollywood's conception of the American consen
sus. It is a teacher's duty to point out neglected and stereotyped ethni
groups as well as sexism in film. Until the civil rights movement of th
1960s Hollywood was awash in a sea of white faces. Minorities wer
usually included either for comic relief or as a sinister force. Women, o
course, are too numerous to be ignored. Therefore, Hollywood has playe
a key role in the incorporation of women into the consensus. Filmmaker
predominantly male, have urged women to give up careers and adjust to
domestic roles, but strong female performers such as Bette Davis and Joan
Crawford have transcended more subscribed screenplays and roles. Th
status of women in American society as exemplified through film could
make an interesting course in its own right, and certainly should not b
ignored in a survey of American history as viewed through the lens o
Hollywood. Issues of race and gender are most essential to the examina
tion of conflict and consensus.
Thus, the course begins with the despair of the early depression years.
The apparent consensus of the 1920s was splitting apart under the
pressures of economic dislocation, as many Americans began to question
the system and confront institutions. A number of fine films may be
screened to illustrate this period of doubt. I have used IAm a Fugitive from
a Chain Gang (1932), Our Daily Bread (1934), and Public Enemy (1931 ).
Director Mervyn LeRoy's Chain Gang has the protagonist, James Allen
(Paul Muni), as a victim of the system, a war hero who cannot find a job
and then is unjustly accused of committing a crime. He escapes from the
chain gang and becomes a successful businessman, but when his true
identity is revealed he voluntarily returns to prison. However, he does not
receive the expected reduced sentence, and Allen once again flees the
chain gang. In the last scene of the film, Allen confronts his girlfriend in
the darkness outside her home. She asks how he will live, and Allen
chillingly replies, "I steal." While much of the film appears melodramatic
to students today, Allen's final statement of despair, uttered in the
darkness, exemplifies the early depression years.
Director King Vidor's Our Daily Bread demonstrates that many
Americans were willing to consider collectivist solutions outside of
traditional American capitalism. John and Mary inherit a farm and then
operate it on a collective basis with unemployed workers and farmers
(although the dependence of the others on John also provides a note of
authoritarianism). However, the impact of this film is somewhat negated
by the casting of nonprofessional actors in the lead roles. While Vidor

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 220 Ron Briley

sought to provi
standards, seem
For illustrating
Hoover, I have fou
The gangster gen
cents, as can be s
summer film in
Harlow can still m
issues for discuss
how the film mi
and how well the
an important soc
Many students b
in such a glamoro
dull and boring,
crime may kill, it
Powers smashing
(Mae Clarke) an
mother and wom
the gangster genr
American Dream
opportunity thr
would-be Horatio
for social mobilit
G. Robinson con
Robinson lacks C
how Cagney and
films as G-Men
system and the v
Why this shift o
attribute this shift to Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and a new sense of
optimism and hope in the land. The evolution of a new consensus out of
the despair wrought by the darkest years of the depression is best
demonstrated through screening some of the screwball comedies of the
1930s. For it is in these comedies that discrepancies between the rich and
poor, as well as gender differences, are bridged and social distinctions
blurred. I might also add that these films are very much enjoyed by
students today, and Frank Capra's It Happened One Night (1934) is
always rated as one of the students' favorite films from the course. It
Happened One Night, which won an oscar for best picture in 1934, tells
the story of wealthy young society lady Ellen Andrews, played by
Claudette Colbert, fleeing from her father and a society marriage. She is

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Reel History: U.S. History Through the Lens of Hollywood 221

discovered by reporter Peter Warren (Clark Gable), who proceeds to t

the society lady how to live out "on the road" (the best example of th
the famous hitchhiking scene). Eventually, she discovers that he
reporter, and, believing that he only wants a story, she returns to her fat
However, with a little help from her father (the rich are not so bad after
she realizes that she loves Warren and runs out on her society weddi
Andrews and Warren are married, and social conflicts are reconcile
everyone lives happily ever after. And the independent nature of E
Andrews is tamed when she assumes the role of Peter's wife and enters the
consensus of marriage. However, student essays and discussions are
usually very perceptive in analyzing the many economic, racial, and
gender issues of the depression era which are often overlooked in such
consensus building entertainment as It Happened One Night.
While the films mentioned above give students a good feel for the basic
reactions of Americans to the depression and New Deal, some important
individual film statements of the decade also need to be considered. Thus,
I would recommend screenings of Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times
(1936) and John Ford's film adaptation of John Steinbeck's The Grapes
of Wrath (1940). Chaplin's film is a very personal interpretation in which
his Little Tramp character and the Gamin (Paulette Goddard) are the
victims of hunger, unemployment, and the coercive state; yet they
maintain a sense of optimism-the film concludes with the two strolling
hand-in-hand down a long winding highway. In Chaplin's version of the
depression the villian appears to be automation and mechanization which
have sacrificed human values to the god of the assembly line and
efficiency. Thus, Chaplin seems to champion the brotherhood of man
while questioning some of the capitalist assumptions of Roosevelt's
reform and recovery program at a time in 1936 when the New Deal had
restored some hope for many Americans. While Chaplin's statement
might be somewhat out of step with mainstream America and Hollywood,
it is important that students be introduced to the comic art of Chaplin. And,
indeed, students delight in Chaplin. His sense of humor remains universal
and timeless. In class discussions we attempt to analyze Chaplin's comic
approach with such questions as: Why do we identify with the Little
Tramp? We also examine his thesis regarding the depression and how his
personal life and political beliefs led to his being forced out of the country.
It is always interesting to note the surprise registered by students when
they realize that many Americans once considered Chaplin's humor
subversive.
It is also worthwhile to screen The Grapes of Wrath, which many
reviewers tend to label the quintessential Hollywood depression film. Yet,
the film was not made until 1940, well after the nadir of the depression,

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 222 Ron Briley

and at a time whe

political events in
conservative fil
Modern Times. Es
Joad family, held
the depression. L
the impression th
and not a breakd
benevolent feder
the government
Franklin Rooseve
toned down in the film which focuses on the conservative consensus
building of Ma rather than the speeches and actions of the more radical
Tom Joad. In fact, an excellent exercise is to have the students read the
novel (here team teaching with the English department comes in handy)
and look at the difficulties inherent in translating a novel to the screen.
Students are often very astute at uncovering elements of consensus in what
is, ostensibly, a more radical film.
Following the social and economic impact of the depression which has
been discussed thus far, it is appropriate to shift the focus of the course to
the political implications of the depression, which will move the class into
its second major topic, the Second World War. Of course, the political
influence of the depression in Europe was a turn toward authoritarianism
with fascist governments in Germany, Italy, and Spain; Stalin in the Soviet
Union, and strong left vs. right polarization in such western democracies
as France and England. Could it also happen in America? This topic was
treated in a number of Hollywood films, of which perhaps Frank Capra's
Meet John Doe (1941) is the best known. Expanding themes Capra had
already touched upon in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) and Mr. Smith
Goes to Washington (1939), the director once again has Gary Cooper
portray the innocent American beseiged by the forces of corruption. The
protagonist, Long John Willoughby, is selected by reporter Ann Mitchell
(Barbara Stanwyck) to represent a John Doe who threatens to kill himself
unless something is done to restore human values in the world. Of course,
Willoughby falls in love with Mitchell and begins to take the common man
issue very seriously, forming John Doe clubs across America in which
neighbors band together to resolve their difficulties. However, the John
Doe clubs were financed by newspaper publisher D. B. Norton (Edward
Arnold), who planned to use them to gain the Presidency and establish a
dictatorship in America. When Willoughby finds out how Norton plans to
manipulate the John Doe clubs, he attempts to warn the people, but is
denounced as a fake by Norton, and the people turn on Willoughby. In an

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Reel History: U.S. History Through the Lens of Hollywood 223

effort to restore the faith of the people, Willoughby attempts to go thr

with his suicide; however, the love of a good woman (like many car
women of the 1930s and 1940s, Ann Mitchell has apparently given up
newspaper career to stand by her man) and the pleas of several John
club members dissuade him. Willoughby then decides to confront the
Norton with the power of the people.
But Capra's triumph of the people is a narrow one; in his original endin
he has Willoughby complete his suicide. Capra's film is also ambigu
in that he seems to advocate a populist solution, yet his people
followers constantly in search of a leader-a trait which can easily lea
fascism. This film raises a number of excellent questions and topics
student discussion. How fragile is our democracy? How well does
democracy react to economic dislocations? How much of a threat in
1930s were individuals like Huey Long and Father Coughlin? Is popul
latent fascism? It should also be noted that to some Americans Colonel
Oliver North of the Iran-Contra affair resembles a Capra hero. From this
perspective, North is a real life equivalent of Gary Cooper or Jimmy
Stewart who is an honest man of the people beset by corrupt politicians and
manipulative newspapers. The implications of the Capra image deserve
considerable investigation and study.
Another film which examines the ambiguous relationship between the
common people and a man of power who claims to speak for them is Orson
Welles's classic Citizen Kane (1941). Although there is considerable
controversy over the extent to which the film is modeled upon the life o
publisher William Randolf Hearst, whether about Hearst or not, Welles
does raise some important questions about the nature of our democracy.
And, of course, the film is an essential one to consider for the innovativ
film techniques introduced by Welles. Students enjoy the film as they
recognize how Citizen Kane and "Rosebud" have become incorporated
into our culture. The camera angles, lighting, and shadows employed by
Welles fascinate students and give little credence to those who preach
"colorization" because young audiences will not watch black and white
films.
Issues of democracy and fascism lead logically to a discussion of
American foreign policy in the 1930s and America's entrance into World
War II. There are a number of excellent films to represent the shift in
American foreign policy from isolationism to involvement, but I prefer to
begin with a red herring which should warn students about some of the
complexities involved with interpreting film in historical context. Thus
I have students look at the Marx Brothers in Duck Soup (1933). Because
of the depression and because of America's bitter reaction to its World
War I experience, foreign affairs were not uppermost in the minds of most

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 224 Ron Briley

Americans in th
appear to demon
Students are quic
readily reflects p
students are disap
Marx Brothers' films of the 1930s at the box office. Film historians have
often attributed this failure to the fact that Duck Soup presented one of the
most anarchistic attacks on the state ever captured on celluloid, and this
film was released during a time when the New Deal was providing new
faith in the system for many Americans. While the film may not necessar-
ily be illustrative of American foreign policy, students still find delight in
the Marx Brothers' brand of humor, and it makes an interesting compari-
son with Chaplin.
Better Hollywood treatments of the move from isolationism to involve-
ment would be Sergeant York (1941) and the immortal Casablanca
(1942). (Another Chaplin film outside the Hollywood mainstream is
worth considering in this context. The Great Dictator [1940] confronts
Nazi anti-Semitism more openly than most Hollywood productions of the
period, although Chaplin maintained that if he had been aware of the extent
to which the Nazis were prepared to take their prejudices he could never
have made this satire.) In Sergeant York, Gary Cooper gives an oscar-
winning performance as Alvin York, the religious young man from
Tennessee who sought conscientious-objector status in World War I, but
who was convinced by his minister that some causes justify taking human
life, and went on to become America's most decorated soldier of the Great
War. York's saga provided a perfect analogy for those seeking American
participation in World War II. We did not want to become involved, but
Nazi aggression gave us no choice, and Hollywood was willing to point
the way. But because of concern for European markets (Hollywood films
were very popular in Germany), Hollywood only climbed on the band-
wagon a few months before Pearl Harbor brought America into the war.
Perhaps the best example of this genre is Casablanca. While Sergeant
York makes a fine historical point, it simply cannot captivate a class the
way the characters and script of Casablanca are still able to do. While the
plot is rather convoluted, the meaning is obvious. Rick Blaine (Humphrey
Bogart) is symbolic of an idealistic America who was betrayed by a more
worldly Europe, Ilsa Laszlo (Ingrid Bergman). Rick now sticks his neck
out for no one, just as America passed neutrality legislation to put some
distance between itself and Europe. However, as the Vichy French
inspector Renault (Claude Rains) remarks to Rick, isolationism is not a
satisfactory policy. And when Ilsa and her courageous husband Victor
appear in Casablanca fleeing the Nazis, Rick finally realizes that he must

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Reel History: U.S. History Through the Lens of Hollywood 225

return to the fight. The film reflects many of the stereotypes of World
II from the crazy but friendly Russian Sacha to the evil hissing Nazi M
Strasser. These stereotypes lead logically into a discussion of war pro
ganda and the role played by Hollywood in the war effort.
Certainly any of the Why We Fight series produced by Frank Capra fo
the U.S. government would provide an excellent example of off
American propaganda and are interesting for students to compare
Hitler's chilling propaganda piece Triumph of the Will. More conve
tional Hollywood fare is available in countless war films. I have
Bataan (1942), featuring Robert Taylor, as a sort of quintessen
Hollywood treatment of the war. The theme here is one of national u
and consensus against the treacherous Japanese. The defenders of Ba
are a cross section of the American melting pot with an Irishman, J
Hispanic, and Black (the film was banned in some Southern states).
film's portrayal of the Japanese is clearly racist, reflecting the nature of
savage war in the Pacific and a national mood which would support
internment of Japanese-Americans. (Hollywood stereotypes of the J
nese as aggressive and evil and the Chinese as docile and capable of b
incorporated into the American consensus are developed in many film
the 1930s such as the excellent film adaptation of Pearl Buck's The G
Earth.) Bataan received favorable reviews for its realistic picture of
war, yet it is most interesting to watch contemporary students respond
the film. They know the film is supposed to be serious, but they sometim
have difficulty in restraining their laughter. The special effects are
course, poor in comparison with today's films, and the racism is a little t
transparent. But the students also seem possessed with a bit of pos
Vietnam cynicism. I try to point out why Studs Terkel referred to W
War II as the good war, but they remain skeptical. This loss of faith
be lamented, but, on the other hand, when I was growing up, perhap
many of us were captivated by the glorious side of Bataan and films
Sands of lwo Jima (1949), featuring John Wayne. While made after
war, this film still captures the spirit of the war years and presents
students with the larger-than-life image of Wayne which inspired so ma
baby boomers to play soldiers as children and as young adults seek g
in Asia. Perhaps the cynicism of contemporary students is healthy.
given the popularity of films like Rambo, I wonder how deep this appare
cynicism reaches.
There is one important aspect of Hollywood and World War II wh
I have not been able to explore with my students as much as I would
This topic is Hollywood's portrayal of the Soviet Union during the
Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union were, of course, American allies,
the conspiratorial stereotype of the "red" had to be downplayed in

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 226 Ron Briley

pictures. Neverth
threaten the jobs o
context of the po
of this genre are
Moscow (1943), ba
Union Joseph Dav
of these films in
discussed but not screened.
Following the war, many Americans were ill at ease, afraid that the
nation would again sink into depression. Therefore, Hollywood producers
returned to the social-problem film which mirrored these insecurities.
Hollywood was certainly not prepared, however, to retreat from the World
War II consensus to the conflict of the early depression years. A common
theme in these postwar films is that America does have problems, but that
these difficulties require individual adjustments; the system itself is fine.
An excellent example of this Hollywood approach is director William
Wyler's oscar-winning The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). The film is a
little long and slow moving for students, but the fine performances of the
leading characters maintain student interest. The film generates an exami-
nation of the difficulties inherent in the shift from war to peace. The basic
message of the film is conservative, for the larger issues of depression,
unemployment, and the red scare are deemphasized; Homer (Harold
Russell) learns to cope with hooks instead of hands; Fred (Dana Andrews)
finally finds a decent job and a good woman; and Al (Frederic March)
readjusts to his family and bank position, while learning to control his
drinking.
Another film which tends to defuse a social problem is Elia Kazan's
Gentleman's Agreement, which won the oscar for best picture in 1947.
Gregory Peck portrays writer Phil Green, who decides to present himself
as Jewish so he can write about anti-Semitism in America. The impact of
the film's statement is lessened because, of course, Green is not really
Jewish, and as one member of the film's crew allegedly commented to
screenwriter Moss Hart, "I'll be more careful in the future; I won't ever ill-
treat a Jew in case it turns out that he's really a Christian" (Roffman and
Purdy, The Hollywood Social Problem Film, p. 241). The film is also a
little melodramatic for today's students, but it is still worth viewing and
considering for the awkward fashion in which the Hollywood of the 1940s
tried to deal with the impact of the Holocaust.
The conservative nature of the postwar social-problem film is most
apparent in the treatment of racial issues. In Home of the Brave (1949),
Peter Moss (James Edwards) is an emotionally disturbed black GI whose
paralysis has been induced by racism. Finally, with the aid of a white

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Reel History: U.S. History Through the Lens of Hollywood 227

psychologist, he is able to come to grips with his neurosis and walk

Pinky (1949), a black woman nicknamed Pinky (Jeanne Crain) attem
to pass for white and is prepared to marry a white physician from the N
until she returns to the South to visit her grandmother. She rediscovers
true heritage and renounces her marriage vows, remaining in the Sou
establish a school for black nurses. While racism is condemned in this
film, a conservative message of staying in one's proper place is als
conveyed to the viewer.
Another change confronting American society as a result of World War
II was the emergence of women in the work force and their seeking a
greater voice in American society. But male-dominated Hollywood has
not usually been kind to assertive women, and in films such as Mildre
Pierce (1945) and The Postman Always Rings Twice (1945) assertive
women are punished for stepping out of line. Even that liberated role
model Katharine Hepburn had to acknowledge a man's ego to keep her
Spencer Tracy. In Woman of the Year (1942), Hepburn portrays a well
known international reporter, Tess Harding, who is selected as the woma
of the year. But while competent as a professional, Tess fails as
homemaker, and her husband (Spencer Tracy) walks out on her. To regain
the departed husband, Tess sneaks into his bachelor apartment and
attempts to prepare breakfast. Lacking domestic skills, Tess produces
breakfast which is a culinary disaster, but her heart is in the right place (th
kitchen), and the marriage is reconciled. This film may be used to examin
the threat which many women in traditional male occupations like "Rosi
the Riveter" posed to males during the war years and how unions and
business conspired to force them out of the labor force in the postwa
years. In many ways Woman of the Year anticipates many of the argu
ments later developed by Betty Friedan in The Feminine Mystique (which
I sometimes use as supplementary reading). As women were clearly
competent to do men's work, it was necessary to create the feminine
mystique to convince women that they wanted to get out of the work force
and back into the home. And Hollywood did its part, reflecting th
ideology by having women, like Tess Harding, sacrifice their career for
marriage and family.
Of course, as America moved into the Cold War, one of the majo
reasons why Hollywood failed to confront many postwar problem
directly was the fear of being accused of communist sympathies. One o
the major cornerstones of the postwar consensus was anticommunism,
and with congressional investigations questioning Hollywood's loyalty,
the film industry was quick to demonstrate its Americanism with a host of
anticommunist films, most of which seem pretty ludicrous to contempo
rary students. A classic example of the anticommunist film is My Son John

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 228 Ron Briley

(1952), in which
(Robert Walker)
high government
Alger Hiss case.)
and Hayes retort
With Hollywood
to produce drivel
the subject of M
American of film
analogies. (The sc
with such works
as commentaries
director Fred Zinnemann and screenwriter Carl Foreman use the confor-
mity of the citizens of Hadleyville (sounds a little like Hollywood) and
their failure to aid Marshal Will Kane (Gary Cooper), when he stands
alone to protect their rights and liberties, to comment upon the fear
produced by the House Committee on Un-American Activities and figures
such as Joseph McCarthy. High Noon was a most unusual Western and
was criticized by many people, among them John Wayne, who termed the
film un-American and was proud of his role in running Foreman out of
Hollywood. While the film is a classic and belongs in a film history class,
it is not a favorite of students who find the film somewhat tedious and the
Western a difficult and strange genre. (In fact, what has happened to the
Western also makes a very good discussion topic.) Another fine 1950s
Western which explores the relationship between the individual and
society is John Ford's The Searchers (1956), which features John Wayne
in the role of the outsider Ethan Edwards. In a decade known for the
Organization Man, the Western, with its emphasis upon the conflict
between the community and individual, serves as a good vehicle to
examine the consensus of the 1950s. And because Ford imbues his film
with humor, The Searchers is far more popular with students than High
Noon.
Investigations by the House Committee on Un-American Activities
forced many in Hollywood to choose between sacrificing their careers and
cooperating with congressional inquiries. One who decided to name
names was director Elia Kazan. This was not an easy issue to discuss
openly in the 1950s, so in On the Waterfront Kazan used the analogy of
corruption in the longshoreman's unions to make his point that it was
indeed sometimes necessary to combat evil by cooperating with govern-
mental authorities. Thus, in Kazan's view the corrupt union officials led
by Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb) were the evil equivalent of Joseph Stalin
and the Communist Party. On the Waterfront holds up very well today, and

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Reel History: U.S. History Through the Lens of Hollywood 229

students still marvel at the young Marlon Brando's performance, b

students are not convinced that the Communist Party was as much o
threat to Hollywood as Friendly's corruption was to the union. In sh
they are not really comfortable with naming names and do not agree
Kazan's analogy. They much prefer the individual statement of
Cooper facing the bad guys at high noon. It is interesting to compar
the Waterfront with director Martin Ritt's The Front (1976), starr
Woody Allen and featuring many blacklisted performers from the 1
In The Front, Allen plays Howard Prince, who is a bookie fronting
scriptwriter for his blacklisted friend. When finally confronted b
congressional committee looking into his background and asking him
name names, Prince's reply to the committee is that they shoul
something which is anatomically impossible. The contrast between
stances taken by Terry Malloy (Brando in Waterfront) and Prince
vides for excellent classroom debates and demonstrates how historical
context may influence behavior.
While High Noon and Waterfront deal with the consensus of anticom
munism, perhaps the quintessential consensus film of the 1950s is Twelv
Angry Men (1957). The drama and acting of this film retain their force, and
students are easily able to identify the characteristics of the postwar liberal
consensus as Henry Fonda (who just happens to be an architect) go
about the task of constructing a consensus on the jury. The film begin
with a jury that is divided eleven to one for the conviction of a young man
(apparently Hispanic) for the murder of his father. Fonda, of course, is the
hold-out, and in the course of the film he employs logic and reason t
convince the other jurors that they are swayed by circumstantial eviden
and prejudice. Each juror represents a stereotype that has to be won ov
to the consensus. Thus, we have an immigrant, a stockbroker, a working
man, a young man from the slums, an advertising executive, a bigot, an
a self-made man who are brought into an agreement for a verdict of no
guilty. (It is important to note that women and blacks are not included i
this consensus.) Fonda is the cool liberal, dressed in a white suit, who
keeps on his jacket while others around him are perspiring freely. In th
view of the liberal society, there is no need for extremism or violenc
America is sound. An ever-expanding economy and the power of educ
tion will eventually solve the nation's problems, even for the minoritie
in the slums. This faith in the power of economic progress, along with anti-
communism, was the liberal consensus of the 1950s.
Certainly not everyone in the 1950s adhered to this consensus, and even
during this apparently conformist decade, Hollywood hinted at the sub
versive elements waiting to burst through the veneer and propel Ameri
into the 1960s. One of these symbols was James Dean, and contemporar

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 230 Ron Briley

students are still a

a Cause. The mes
conclusion of the
brought back into
learned their lesso
the parental con
dominate the fath
a puppy killer, an
is killed by the au
sexuality, and dan
times to come.
Another subversive element of the 1950s was rock and roll. While there
are many rock music films from the 1950s available, I find it more
effective to break from chronological order in examining the cultural
impact of this new art form. Thus, I use American Graffiti (1973), which
is supposed to be set in the summer of 1962, to illustrate the bridge between
the 1950s and the more rebellious 1960s. Students certainly enjoy the
music of the film and are able to comprehend the message that there is
more to life than high school and that passages are necessary in life. From
a more historical perspective, students are able to perceive that the teens
of the early 1960s were enjoying an Indian summer filled with music and
cars before the onslaught of Vietnam and the domestic violence of the
1960s. The consensus was on the verge of breaking down, and the
description, at the conclusion of American Graffiti, of each character's
path following high school makes this abundantly clear. And the film's
identification with Curt (Richard Dreyfuss), who gives up cruising for
college, and becomes a writer living in Canada (evidently fleeing the
draft), makes the sympathies of filmmakers George Lucas and Francis
Ford Coppola quite apparent.
The undercurrents of unrest in consensus America of the late 1950s and
early 1960s can also be deduced from the films of Alfred Hitchcock. In
such films as Psycho (1960) and The Birds (1963) the average existence
of common people is disrupted by forces over which they have no control.
Beneath the veneer of rationality and consensus lurk forces of uncontrol-
lable violence.
While the work of Hitchcock is worthy of more attention, I find the mos
outstanding film example of the breakdown of the liberal consensus to b
Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove (1964). This biting satire and assault
upon authority is one in which most adolescents still take delight. The
architects of the liberal consensus are now exposed as either irrational
warmongers or ineffective practitioners of compromise. The doctrine o
anticonmmunism is ridiculed in the paranoid rantings of General Jack

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Reel History: U.S. History Through the Lens of Hollywood 231

Ripper (Sterling Hayden), and the Cold War becomes the path to dest
tion. Kubrick also questions our culture's strange love affair with mac
ery and quantification. His view is that we have lost our humanity and ou
perception of sex is based on power and domination, not love. Need
to say, this film provokes considerable student interest and discuss
regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis and the whole issue of nuc
weapons and strategy.
If Kubrick's doomsday device completely obliterates the liberal co
sensus on celluloid, the Vietnam War achieved that end on col
campuses and in families throughout America. While Hollywood
cessfully described or exploited the counterculture of the 1960s, it
reluctant to tackle the subject of Vietnam. Therefore, the best films abou
the war have come after the conflict. Apparently the Vietnam War
simply too divisive of a topic during the 1960s. Now, twenty years l
it is a popular subject. For student screenings, I have used John Way
The Green Berets (1968). Made as a response to growing criticism of
Vietnam conflict, this film demonstrates well the ideology and thin
which brought America into the war, right down to naming the America
base camp Fort Apache. It also labels dissidents as disloyal for giving
and comfort to the enemy, as Wayne seeks to perpetuate the antic
munist consensus. Wayne's perceptions provoke considerable stu
debate, and I have tried to balance The Green Berets with any numbe
films critical of the war, although these films have their shortcomings. F
example, Apocalypse Now (1979) often tells us more about Conr
Heart of Darkness than Vietnam; Coming Home (1978) deals well wi
the difficulties of returning veterans, but the war itself tends to remain
the background and sometimes gets overwhelmed by the love story;
Deer Hunter (1978) presents a confusing and ambiguous message; and
documentary Hearts and Minds (1974) is perceived by many student
being just as heavy handed in its antiwar message as Wayne is
supporting American participation in the conflict. Of these films, I belie
Hearts and Minds does the best job, as it places the Vietnam War squa
within the parameters of American culture by questioning Americ
racism, sexism, and sport. But it does tend to belabor this point, an
perhaps the film on Vietnam I would most recommend is Oliver St
Oscar-winning Platoon (1986), which, according to many Vietnam v
erans, presents a realistic portrait of what this war was really like fo
combat soldier. The basic theme of a nation divided and a genera
losing its innocence is also well taken. This film, along with Sta
Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket (1987), offers a fine corrective for any y
people who have developed a macho attitude toward war from view
such films as Rambo.

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232 Ron Briley

Joining with the

consensus was th
to simply wait on
American mains
preferred to ign
focuses on the m
Mississippi, and h
sizing the role of
few outstanding f
becomes one of t
omission may illu
society. Accordin
than satisfying
documentary Ey
Americans as ste
such stereotypes:
Shaft (1971). Wit
have tried Guess
bird (1962). The
Liberals Spencer
spectacle of their
the courage of th
black man, portr
reputation. Wha
Mockingbird also
uniting the stor
Radley are impor
share with one's c
the early years of
yet he is almost
Finch (Gregory P
scending. But it
the early civil rig
such topics as bl
Along with Viet
something of a lo
in the late 1960s
liberation was to
ing the female bo
more assertive w
Butch Cassidy a
Robert Redford,

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Reel History: U.S. History Through the Lens of Hollywood 233

(1971, which I would not recommend for student viewing). Neverthe

there were some positive signs as a politically activist Jane Fonda mo
from the sex exploitation of Barbarella (1968) to a more assertive wo
in Klute (1971, although the film is named after Donald Sutherla
character and Fonda plays a prostitute) to, finally, a more sophistic
female "buddy" film Julia (1977) with Vanessa Redgrave. The controv
sial Fonda would be an important transitional figure for stronger and mo
developed female roles of the late 1970s and early 1980s such as Sal
Field in Norma Rae and Meryl Streep in Silkwood.
While the Vietnam War and civil rights struggle were ducked
Hollywood, the same is certainly not true of the counterculture, which w
always eager to purchase movie tickets. In fact, a good argument can
made that this very commercialization of the counterculture led to
being absorbed into the mainstream of American culture and capital
This phenomenon became quite clear with the amazing success of E
Rider (1969), which was produced for $400,000 and has been estimat
to have earned at least $60,000,000. I am almost embarrassed to show
film to students today, but I suppose it is worthwhile as a period pie
Students find the film rather boring and think the dialogue a collection
clich6s (with the exception of the performance of Jack Nicholson), b
a child of the 1960s I assure them that I once spoke that way and init
thought the film representative of my generation. Another disappointme
is the documentary Woodstock (1970). Students find the crowd scen
interesting. However, the musical numbers do not do much for th
although I have observed that many students still listen to music of
decade. I think it is not so much the music, but the way it is filmed. You
people accustomed to the sophisticated techniques of music videos ex
a cut every few seconds and are not prepared for long takes of Ric
Havens strumming his guitar. They do, however, have an enthusias
response to Milos Forman's Hair (1978). This film adaptation of the
Broadway play does capture the role of music in the countercultur
well as conveying an antiwar message and a belief in freedom for t
individual. This was a film made after the heyday of the countercul
and after its views had been more or less absorbed into the mainstream of
American civilization. Some of the rough edges of the counterculture
evident in Easy Rider are missing from the more glossy Hair. Neverthe-
less, it remains a good film for instigating discussions on the hippie
phenomenon of the 1960s.
The breakdown of the liberal consensus is also apparent in a number of
other 1960s films which were popular in the decade and still interest
students today. For example, Bonnie and Clyde (1967) demonstrates the
degree to which violence was becoming an everyday part of American

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 234 Ron Briley

life, and it show

filmmakers and
Parker (Faye Dun
society; they hav
ica. They turned t
were robbing ban
1960s), not robb
treacherous, and
with an avalanch
Public Enemy are
common in their
But cinemagraph
contemporary fi
sex, violence, an
accustomed.
On the subject of violence, it is interesting to observe how genres like
the Western have changed to reflect the times in which home television
sets were nightly beseiged by scenes of violence in Vietnam, on college
campuses, and in the streets of America. A good film for this purpose is
Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch (1969). The film is extremely violent,
with many of the most murderous scenes filmed in slow motion, providing
a ballet-like look. The attraction of the violence for the viewer is disturb-
ing. The film is morally ambiguous, as in the opening scene: the Wild
Bunch, dressed in American military uniforms, is robbing a bank and are
ambushed by a group of deputies on the rooftops, but a temperance parade
gets caught in the crossfire, and women and children are gunned down.
Following this robbery, the survivors from the Wild Bunch, led by Pike
(William Holden), make a bloody incursion into Mexico which has some
of the repercussions of racism in Vietnam. This is certainly not the West
of the 1950s and John Ford.
For reflecting the questioning of the consensus and the establishment
during the late 1960s and 1970s I have also found One Flew Over the
Cuckoo's Nest (1975) to be a valuable film. Jack Nicholson gives a strong
performance as Patrick McMurphy, and the film raises important issues of
conformity, authority, and the nature of sanity in the modem world. But
the film of the 1960s with which contemporary students best identify is the
Graduate (1967). While to some viewers Benjamin Braddock's (Dustin
Hoffman' s) sense of alienation, and the attempt to seduce him by the older
generation symbolized by Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), might simply
appear reflective of the generation gap of the 1960s, today's students very
much understand Braddock's plight. There is a timeless quality to the film
as most young people confront graduation and their future with some

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Reel History: U.S. History Through the Lens of Hollywood 235

apprehension while being somewhat suspicious of their parents' choic

Many students have thanked me for showing this film as their identi
tion with Braddock has helped them deal with their own sens
alienation.
I complete this course on recent American history with an investigation
of the Watergate crisis. Of course, one fine film to screen here is All The
President's Men (1976) with Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford. In
addition to providing a background for discussion of constitutional issues,
this film raises important questions about the role of a free press in a
democratic society. However, for reflecting the psychological aspects of
Watergate I would recommend Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation
(1974), featuring Gene Hackman as a practitioner of electronic surveil-
lance. The paranoia which led to Watergate and the dangers inherent in
modem technology in the wrong hands are well stated in the final scene
of this film as a surveillance camera pans Hackman's devastated apart-
ment in which he has not been able to find the concealed camera. Hackman
sits dejectedly among this chaos. It is a chilling portrait.
I hate to leave the course on this depressing note, so the final film we
screen is Hal Ashby's Being There (1979), featuring Peter Sellers in the
title role of Chance the Gardner, a man whose only knowledge of the world
has been gained through a television set. He is a very ignorant man, but
others think him brilliant, and by the end of the film he is being viewed as
a possible Presidential candidate. Being There offers an opportunity to
close out the course with a humorous film, but one that presents important
questions regarding the role of television and film in our society. Thus, we
have examined in considerable detail the theme of conflict vs. consensus
in recent American history, concluding with some observations on how a
powerful influence such as film is able to take concepts of conflict and,
introducing them to mass audiences, incorporate them into a new consen-
sus. To some extent this is the story of both film and American history.
This rather exhaustive discussion of films illustrates some of the
Hollywood productions I have used to demonstrate themes of conflict
consensus in American history between 1932 and 1972. One may quib
over the film selection. There are many key works which I have
discussed here, but I have found screening some of the films describ
above makes for an interesting film history course, providing insight into
recent American history and the role of film in our society. Forme
students now in the universities have provided me with many favora
comments, saying they believe the course forced them to deal w
abstractions and symbols rather than rote learning. They also insist that t
course has made them more aware of the society in which they live and th
role of the film medium in that society. I have also had complaints tha

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236 Ron Briley

is now impossible
and ideology. As f
challenge as well
an insight from
connection. The
encourage more
supervision, they
a complete film
recommend it) to
few films into a
and provide new
pared teacher wi
convey to studen
American history

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