Black & White and Red All Over

Memoirs of a Blacklist is a much appreciated and fresh look at censorship and the McCarthy Paranoia that hit during the fifties. Although most readers might like to take a more in-depth look at the political bylaws that occurred during the time or the duality of Bernstein’s participation in the American military while maintaining Communist principles, I am more interested in his life as a writer (being a writer myself) and how he worked through the system to get his work published.
Bernstein starts out his memoir by introducing his love of all that is Hollywood and the movie business. But it is his constant strive to produce work that fuels his writing. The obsession with creation and producing movie scripts that are exceptional is what keeps Bernstein going, despite the fact that his Communist beliefs constantly create pitfalls and walls throughout his career. Of course we can’t forget get his need to make a living, but in retrospect, Bernstein fights his way through the “red tape, going by pseudonyms and hiring other people to sell his scripts.
As a writer myself I constantly ask myself the question “how far would I go, or how honest would I be about my beliefs” just to keep my ability to write. Censorship of oneself also plays a huge role into the dilemma that Bernstein deals with. Although his work may be in a way censored by not being accepted due to his name on the blacklist, he does not proceed to censor his own beliefs and claim that he is not a Communist just so he can continue to produce work. It is here that this personal controversy of one’s beliefs versus one’s published work begins to get complicated from a writer’s standpoint. I admire Bernstein’s ability to conquer his own fears and not censor himself in his writing or beliefs. The best writers, I believe, are those who are the most vulnerable to themselves and their readers. Bernstein rose to produce some very evocative scripts dealing with subjects other writers wouldn’t touch for fear of losing their careers. It is that courage that I as a fellow writer can admire and hope that I never have to fear and censor myself.