The "True" Communist

Bernstein's situation and particularly his response to being blacklisted are truly fascinating because of how they are framed in light of true Communism. In a pure Communist society, citizens are not the owners of their work, and yield all their decision-making power to the government. The government tells you what to do for a living, where, when, how much you'll be paid, everything. And you have to do it, because they decide what is in the collective interests of society; what's in your individual self-interest is irrelevant, even (or especially) if your individual interest is to transition to a centrally-planned, collectively-interested society. Collective rights trump individual rights, and all members of society accept (or are forced to accept) the collective will.

So now we return to Bernstein. He held certain beliefs about what society and government should be. An outside source tried to silence him, under the pretense that not allowing him to keep writing would be better for society (all of society would be better off if we all just believed in democracy and capitalism, etc.). Yet he kept writing, using various different methods to keep doing what he wanted to do, in spite of the collective will to silence him. In doing so, I believe he violated his pure Communist beliefs. If he were a true Communist, he would have accepted the collective will of the blacklist writers, and ceased his writing. I find it ironic that a Communist, advocating Communist principles, had to use the capitalist ideas of free speech and an individual right to earn a living in whatever manner he wanted in order to maintain his way of life. By the same token, it is just as ironic that the U.S. government, representing a democratic and capitalist society, tried to protect the collective by silencing the individual(s) advocating Communism. A community advocating free speech should allow for even those forms of speech which condone limiting speech, such as Communist writings.

Emotional Effect of the Blacklist

What struck me when reading this section of Bernstein’s memoirs was not just how the blacklist affected his writing and ability to sustain a career, but also how it affected his personal life and relationships. In some ways there were both pros and cons in this situation – we read some really heartening stories about camaraderie and togetherness among those that were blacklisted. However, I think this is also the first time in the memoir where Bernstein seems anything less that totally self-confident and sure of himself. It seems that this really starts with the visits from the FBI. Bernstein writes “there would be the sudden sour taste of fear for a moment and then a shaming wave of anger, not at them but at myself for being afraid” (176). This then develops into a depression and Bernstein’s need for “a validation I could not produce from myself alone” (186). It absolutely makes sense that these kinds of feelings would come from the exclusion that the blacklist creates, and yet they are in such contrast to what we’ve seen of Bernstein’s character so far. This is the man who traveled around Europe all during the war without seeming to worry too much about whether or not he was in danger, the man who snuck into Yugoslavia, who is even distanced and not particularly worried about his family. I think that when you take into consideration his previous happy-go-lucky attitude you realize what a strong effect the blacklist had on Bernstein.
One other thing that I found interesting was the progression in how Bernstein viewed his American beliefs in relation to his Communist beliefs. During the war, he didn’t struggle too much with serving in the army as an American and also supporting other ideas, and even after he writes that there was “no dissonance between supporting Russia and being a good American” (138). However, when the political climate starts to change there is also a change in his beliefs. While at first he believes his Americanism will save him from notice (“I thought I was safe because I was as American as anyone else”) certain events, for example the actions of the police at the Peekskill concert, seem to start and change his mind: “It had not mattered how much of an American I thought I was. I had been on the wrong side.” (149). I think that this shift is fundamental in Bernstein’s understanding of the situation, and also might be responsible for the emotional effect the blacklist had on him.

Fear as Enforcer

As we continue to read Bernstein's experience as a blacklisted artist during the second red scare, the arbitrary ruthlessness of the persecution really stands out. It becomes apparent that communism stands in as a faceless scapegoat to rally the American people around the ambiguous rhetoric of the cold war. As Bernstein writes, “We were the only ones with the atom bomb. Still, the government and the press were telling us that we were being threatened from the outside and subverted from within” (145). The intense backlash against communists shows an insecurity and paranoia in the United States following the Second World War. By targeting high profile movie producers and television stars, the government was able to dazzle the public with spectacle while certain people (like Ronald Regan in Hollywood) were able to gain or consolidate power.

Additionally, it is interesting to see the role that profit played in enforcing the blacklist. Officially, there was no blacklist and Bernstein tells us that many TV stations, ad agencies and production companies actively denied the existence of the blacklist. This shows the hypocrisy of the whole situation. Admitting a blacklist would have been bad publicity for companies since it denied freedom of expression to individuals, but the presence of anyone with communist ties on the air would lead to serious concerns from advertisers. The importance of Laurence Johnson shows the central role that money played in the political purges of the entertainment industry. As Bernstein puts it, “they wanted to be left alone to make money” (166), and would do anything that let the movie studios get back to business as usual. This allowed the government to deny any sort of responsibility for the blacklist; they created the fear and let the entertainment and ad executives enforce an anti-communist agenda.

What really made the anti-communist moral panic so effective was its ambiguous status. On the one hand, the congressional hearings and HUAC created the spectacle of the government protecting people from the dangers of communist propaganda. However, surveillance, questioning and threats seem as far as officials would go. The government created an atmosphere of fear and paranoia in which communists would inevitably and openly discriminated against.

8/7

I’ve really enjoyed reading this book. I’ve found it very interesting throughout the novel; Bernstein still manages to confirm the goodness of ordinary Americans, despite the increasingly number of terrible things that happen to him. He references TV producers and people in the entertainment industry who were more than willing to talk to him, in private out of fear, of course, but they are willing to share their compassions and opinions nonetheless. He constantly mentions that various people shared deep sympathy and are openly outraged by the blacklisting. Sure, he’s still very isolated and lonely, but even small interactions confirm his overall faith in humanity.

And even after his fronts bail on him, he admits being disheartened and annoyed, but struggles to really despise the individuals as they both admit that they are still very much against the system. While his mood towards the government and those doing the blacklisting, and even thoughts of patriotism overall, certainly do become more negative he still portrays an immense appreciation for the natural goodness in people and the values that America is based on. It’ll be interesting to see how his narrative progresses in the final sections of the work. Will his writing and opinions become pessimistic, as I had expected when beginning this book? The tone certainly has been shifting—and seems to worsen gradually, rather than with each negative event in his life. Or will he still manage, despite living in total isolation as a direct result of a handful of crazy member in society, to keep a relatively positive mindset?

For my essay, I am working with the idea about how he manages his two identities, a blacklisted communist and an American. I think his positive attitude helps ties these themes together. Even when the government and entertainment are being attacked he still values American ideals and rights. He’s actively points out the flaws in the Soviet Union and seems to gain perspective that this era will eventually pass.

The Source Rather Than the Message

Reading this week in Bernstein's Inside Out, I was struck by the way in which Bernstein was able to continue writing in Hollywood, despite being on the the blacklist. Hollywood writers who had a connection to communism were arguably ostracized and forced out of work because the government and other concerned Americans worried about the Communist messages that they could be sending and subliminally suggesting in the pieces they wrote for television and for the movies. Yet at no point mentioned in the memoir does Bernstein note any of his previous works being called into question by the authorities, with specific passages cited as furthering the Communist agenda. And in order to get his script accepted by a studio, all Bernstein had to do was put someone else's name on it, a person that could not be tied to Communism.

This kind of double standard often seems to rear its head, in cases of censorship and beyond. It isn't so much that anyone has a problem with the message being communicated. However, if they take issue with the source of the message, they discount the message entirely, as though a harmless nursery rhyme has become suddenly dangerous because it is being spoken by a criminal. Perhaps one of the best examples of this is a recent banned book case out of Texas. In January of this year, the children's book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? was banned from the Texas curriculum because the author, Bill Martin, Jr., was confused with Marxist writer Bill Martin. Turned off by the "author's" writings for adults, one of the members of the board of education strongly cautioned against placing the children's book within reach of the children. The text itself was not evaluated on its own merit; that the author may have written some questionable things for adults was enough to discredit the book. Yet even if Bill Martin, Jr. had written communist literature, one has to wonder: What are they worried about? That osmosis will transfer communist beliefs from the mind of a writer, through a neutral text, and into the minds of children? What threat can a source pose if his message is harmless?

Bernstein's Optimism

I find Bernstein's situation interesting because it seems odd to me that someone who is very intimately experiencing the consequences of abuse of power by their government would support a political movement so wholly dependent on people. My understanding is that Communism in theory and Communism in practice are two very different things. If people were never selfish, greedy, or lazy Communism might actually work, but it seems impossible to implement that system without it getting abused in some way. I feel like if I was in Bernstein's place, I would have a very hard time trusting any political movement after experiencing an ordeal like being put on the blacklist and would probably not be as optimistic as he was.

As for the blacklist itself, I can't really see the US government's reasons for targeting writers and artists at all. I understand that the US government feared the spread of Communism and that fear makes people do unreasonable things, but censoring and blacklisting people who hadn't even really infused Communist ideals into their writing doesn't make any sense to me. I suppose they were censoring artists to be preventative, similar to the school board trying to ban the Harry Potter novels in the essay we read. However, preventative measures like that strike me as being extremely weak justifications. Actions like that are probably more likely to weaken the government performing them by showing them to be oppressive than they are likely to dissuade people from believing Communist ideals. I'm shocked that the blacklist happened at all; persecuting people for their political beliefs is one small step away from doing the same over religious or any other personal belief, which goes against everything America is supposed to stand for. Basically, I think the US government was acting vey hypocritically at the time.

hopeless romantic?

In this section of reading, Walter Bernstein once again romanticizes aspects of life that for the Average Joe would either be ordinary or traumatic. Bernstein spends about two pages discussing how the movies - which were formerly his favorite past time - lost much of their luster once technicolor films emerged. While most individuals would find this advancement exciting Bernstein frowns upon it. Apparently, technicolor makes the movies lose their shadows and excitement. Perhaps the grass is always greener but Bernstein finds a way to twist this advancement and fantasize it into something dull. It comes as a shock, considering how much Bernstein finds himself in the movies, that he would dislike this so strongly.

Besides the movies, Bernstein romanticizes his relationship with New York claiming it his city, his home. He only takes the double decker bus so that he can take it all in and finds new places to eat and drink as he explores the city. He also romanticizes FDR's dramatic death where he sees all kinds of people affected by this loss. Besides FDR being "his president," Bernstein points out that so many children were named after him and that few people knew what life was like without such an influential individual. Obviously, Bernstein turns toward the theater and the movies during these troubled times.

Something that it seems that Bernstein would romanticize but noticeably leaves out is his relationship with his wife and his daughter. These two women are only ever referred to as "wife and daughter" or "wife and child" rather than using names or showing some attachment to them. While he seems to name drop every other person he has met, Bernstein neglects to include the names of these two significant women in his life.