The B-Word Project
If you're a cinema afficionado (know in vernacular terms as a
"movie junkie"), the following news will be especially exciting.
Political pundits should be equally impressed. In either case, you
have to act fast.
"Censoring the Cinema: The Blacklisted Actors, Writers, and
Directors" begins on Tuesday, September 20, at the Art Theatre as
part of "The B-Word Project"--a new Cal State University Long Beach
endeavor that was spear-headed by the Carpenter Performing Arts
Center.
A collaboration between various campus departments, individual
professors, organizations, and off-campus sites, this unique program
features five acclaimed films that examine the historical context
of blacklisting so many Hollywood artists during the height of the
anti-Communist fervor (the 1940s and 50s).
The films involve prominent names in the movie industry who
were blacklisted because top-ranking studios feared rampant
reprisals when the House Un-American Activities Committee accused
them of participating in--or being affiliated with--subversive
organizations.
Each select film in the series will be preceded by a 30-minute
lecture from Craig R. Smith, Director of the Center for First
Amendment Studies. Dr. Smith is the renowned author of sixteen
books; he also wrote more than sixty scholarly articles on subjects
related to freedom of expression.
Whether you choose to take the class for credit or non-credit is
entirely up to you, but there's a catch. Those who see the movies
must be enrolled, because seating in the Art Theatre is extremely
limited.
Lectures are scheduled on alternate Tuesdays to start promptly
at 7:00 pm. Each one is followed by a film that was chosen for its
specific involvement with censorship, in one form or another.
The program takes place as follows:
September. 20: "Spartacus," which stars Kirk Douglas and Jean
Simmons. The screen play was written by Dalton Trumbo, but it was
credited to Douglas because Trumbo was blacklisted for a very long
time.
October. 04: "High Noon," which stars Gary Cooper and Grace
Kelly. The script was written by Carl Foreman who refused to give
names to the House Un-American Activities Committee. As a result,
Foreman bacame one of the infamous "Hollywood Ten."
October. 18: "The Little Foxes," which stars Bette Davis and
Herbert Marshall. It's based on a play by Lillian Hellman who is
reported to have been an ardent Stalinist.
November. 01: "Storm Center," which stars Bette Davis as a
beleaguered librarian who was attacked during the notorious McCarthy
Era.
November. 18: "The Front," which stars Woody Allen, who
satirized the role of being a "front" (a ghost writer) for blacklisted writers.
The Art Theatre is located at 2026 E. 4th St. in Long Beach;
(562) 438-5435.
Enrollment for the "B-Word Project" can be achieved in one of
three ways:
(1) On line at the CCPE web site (www.ccpe/csulb.edu); (2) At
the registration window of the CSULB College of Continuing and
Professional Education, 6300 State University Dr. on lower campus;
or (3) by phone (562) 985-5561 (Monday-Friday, 8:00 am-5:00 pm.)
For additional information, go to www.bwordproject.org.