McCarthyism is anchored on the perpetuation of false allegations of treason without any evidence, and the crucible was a fictional play centred on the Salem witch trial. McCarthyism and the Salem trials were significant occurrences that brought about suffering and anguish to the people. This essay outlines the link between McCarthyism and the Salem trials, and how the events affected the society. Moreover, the essay seeks to explore whether actors and directors have a duty to speak politically, even when it is symbolical.
In both the Salem trials and McCarthyism, innocent people were accused of being witches and communists respectively. The accusations affected the victim’s societal image, and in some cases, lead to their deaths. In both scenarios, the false allegations created an environment of fear since people were afraid of losing their jobs in McCarthyism and being hanged in the Salem trials. In both the Salem trials and McCarthyism, naming or accusing other people was an option provided to those suspected, as a means to allow them to escape the harsh punishments. Such an approach resulted in social rifts between neighbours and friends.
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In McCarthyism, the accused only lost their jobs and suffered a lousy reputation. This was different from the Salem witch trials because accused persons were hanged. Another different is, in McCarthyism hearings were large scale and encompassed many people while in the Salem trials the hearings only affected few people in the society. Also, in McCarthyism, people targeted insiders, mostly those in the entertainment industry because of their popularity. On the other hand, in the Salem witch trials, a significant subset of the accused persons were outsiders.
Actors and directors have a duty to speaking politically through allegory as a means to inform the public about current political issues. By demystifying the alarming events that occurred due to skewed political paradigms, current generation can learn the importance of tolerance and harmonious cohesion. Therefore, it is the duty of actor and directors to convey such sensitive messages.
