An Introduction

1. What evidence is presented to “prove” that the woman is a witch? 2. Would this evidence hold up in a court today? 3. What is the purpose of this clip? 4. What does the clip prove about “witch hunts”?

Colloquial term for finding a Scapegoat: (One who is the object of irrational hostility)

Witch Hunts What happens when the American dream/cultural lifestyle is threatened? Witch hunt, metaphor, McCarthyism, Communism, Democracy

 Entertainment vs. Intellectualism  Modern Dramatists  Lorraine Hansberry  Arthur Miller  3 Elements of modern drama  Realistic characters  Realistic dialogue  Controversial issues

 Author of…  Inspired by…

 McCarthy Hearings  The Threat of Communism “Red Scare”

 Cold War Develops b/t  Soviet Union and United States  Stand off  Nuclear threats  Italy had a fast growing communist party  1949  Mao Zedong Overthrew US-Supported government in China

 1950  McCarthy claims Communists had infiltrated department of state  Paranoia spreads  American dream is threatened  McCarthy claims Hollywood is influence by communism and is spreading propaganda  McCarthy’s “Witch Hunt” begins

 Begin as early as 1480 in Europe as the reformation begins in Europe  MP clip  Involves moral panic, mass hysteria, lack of reason, and lynching  Modern witch hunts are more FIGURATIVE…  Metaphor for political persecution

 Political persecution of anyone associated with Communism—in actuality or imagined  Film industry workers—subpoenaed to reveal names of the subversive people  Government officials charged  Secretary of the Navy accused of harboring Communist spies  Anyone names suspect was blacklisted  Can’t find work—fate worse than death?

 All of this inspired Arthur Miller in his writing  Death of a Salesman: Receives a Pulitzer in 1949 Movie version produced American Legion protests Miller asked to sign anti-communist declaration; refuses Columbia produces a short version, changing the message  The Crucible Produced in 1953 Miller becomes the subject of FBI investiations

 Set during the time of the Salem Witch Trials  Meant to send a message to the world about the Communist Witch Hunts  Based on historical fact  Changed to fit the purpose of the play

 What happens when the American dream/cultural lifestyle is threatened?

 Reverend Samuel Parris/ Stage Directions  Betty Parris/ Stage Directions  Abigail Williams/ Stage Directions  Susanna Walcott/ Stage Directions  Tituba/ Stage Directions  Thomas Putnam/ Stage Directions  Mrs. Ann Putnam/ Stage Directions  Mercy Lewis/ Stage Directions  Mary Warren/ Stage Directions  John Proctor/ Stage Directions  John Hale/ Stage Directions  Giles Corey/ Stage Directions  Rebecca Nurse/ Stage Directions  Narrator 1  Narrator 2  Narrator 3  Narrator 4  Narrator 5