Try to imagine a version of the United States where Confederate affiliation is illegal. Not just in bad taste, illegal. ILLEGAL. Yeah, there’s been a lot of hyperbole; all that’s happened is taking Confederate flags off government buildings. There isn’t actually a law stating ownership is a jailable offense. Suppose there were? Suppose you could be imprisoned for ever owning one. OK, let’s take it a step further – suppose you could be jailed for being a member of, I dunno, The Tea Party, the NRA or the State of Texas. None of these things are illegal, nor should they ever be, much as I find two of them very disatasteful. How about something completely arbitrary: “Sir, have you at any time ever been left-handed or associated with a member of the left-handed conspiratorial party?”
You see what I’m getting at, yes? If you haven’t admitted it yet, it’s time to do so: American Communists do not now represent, nor have ever represented, a threat to the American way of life. Neither do Socialists. Neither do Confederate flag toters, nor Texans, nor Tea Partiers, nor the NRA. Hmmmm, I may regret saying that last one – universal open carry does represent a threat to the life of anything — but I have no interest in rounding up NRA members and jailing and/or taking their guns away.
Why is this important? Because we currently have Presidential candidates who would happily “round up” selected groups (immigrants, Muslims, Syrian refugees, socialists, etc.) if given the opportunity to do so, which is why the biopic of the uniquely named Dalton Trumbo is relevant sixty-five years after the man went jail for being Communist.
Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston) was indeed an American Communist and arguably the top screenwriter of the age. You could call him “hypocrite.” I’m sure he heard that one often – DTrum was well-to-do yet often fought for better working conditions for the little guy. After WWII, the country turned more-and-more anti-Communist. As Trumbo accurately avers – American Communists were acceptable for being anti-Nazi a decade or two earlier, but suddenly found themselves pariahs when the Cold War came about. Columnist Hedda Hopper (Helen Mirren) led the charge for blacklisting red screenwriters, some of whom turned yellow, or green with envy, but most were blue for their inability to pen purple prose. Orange.
While pleading his case, and dragging a few notables like Edward G. Robinson (Michael Stuhlbarg), with him, Trumbo gets into a jawing match with chicken-hawk John Wayne (David James Elliott). Trumbo served in WWII, Wayne did not. Hoo-boy; you don’t have pissing contests with chicken-hawks. We know that one all-too-well in this century. And pretty soon, Trumbo is not only blacklisted but imprisoned for his beliefs.
I’ve seen this tale already in a few forms and most take the route of overcoming injustice. Senator McCarthy was wrong, and what happened as a result was unconscionable, although you’ll rarely hear the paranoid tell it that way. Trumbo went a different direction, subjucating the philosophical argument in favor of the practical – when Dalton Trumbo exits federal prison, he’s
unemployed, unemployable, and poor. So, how does he earn a living? How does he take care of Cleo (Diane Lane) and several little Trumbonis? The only way he knew how … and I bet he had an absolute blast undermining the blacklist.
Dalton Trumbo was a true eccentric – he wrote almost exclusively while in the bathtub; he constantly had a filtered cigarette going and was probably addicted to benzadrine. And he managed to collect a fair amount of hardware all the same even when THE MAN made sure the name “Trumbo” was vilified everywhere. And so, I’ve come full circle and have but one question to ask: you anti-red folks who are so paranoid about the death of your freedoms — do you fear it because you know that’s exactly what you’d do to your imaginary opposition if given the opportunity?
♪I’ve never seen you looking so pruny as you did tonight,
I’ve never seen you emerge in light,
I’ve never seen so many feds ask you “please, come along”
They couldn’t be any more wrong, it’s the same old song
And I’ve never seen you back down from a fight,
Or the floodlights in the yard where you’re imprisoned,
They make me blind
The writer in red is earning a check, week-to-week
There’s nobody there, well, technically
It’s how he’s earns a fee
And I hardly know which name’s on this (screen)play
I’ll never forget his Roman Holiday♫
Rated R, 124 Minutes
D: Jay Roach
W: John McNamara
Genre: The Golden Age of Red Scare
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Screenwriters
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: McCarthyists – or any current Republican, I’d guess
♪ Parody inspired by “The Lady in Red”
