Revisiting the Blacklist Western: A Reception Study of High Noon

Authors: Fisher, A.

Journal: Journal of Cinema and Media Studies

Volume: 61

Issue: 5

Pages: 137-158

eISSN: 2578-4919

ISSN: 2578-4900

DOI: 10.1353/cj.2021.0087

Abstract:

This article uses newspaper archives to assess the extent to which High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952) was received as a film with a political message pertaining to the Hollywood blacklist on its initial cinematic release. Various assumptions surrounding the film are interrogated by revealing that the film was overwhelmingly hailed as an instant genre classic, by examining levels of awareness around writer Carl Foreman’s role, and by analyzing concordances between news coverage of the House Un-American Activities Committee and that of High Noon. The article thereby seeks to illuminate the fragmentary nature of political discourse in Cold War–era popular culture.

https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/34479/

Source: Scopus

Revisiting the Blacklist Western: A Reception Study of High Noon

Authors: Fisher, A.

Journal: Journal of Cinema and Media Studies

Volume: 61

Issue: 5

https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/34479/

Source: Manual

Revisiting the Blacklist Western: A Reception Study of High Noon

Authors: Fisher, A.

Journal: Journal of Cinema and Media Studies

Volume: 61

Issue: 5

Pages: 137-158

ISSN: 0009-7101

Abstract:

This article deploys primary archival research into local newspaper articles, to assess the extent to which High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952) was received as a film with a contemporary political message pertaining to the Hollywood blacklist on its initial cinematic release. Various pre-existing assumptions surrounding the film’s entry into the public sphere are interrogated: by revealing that the film was overwhelmingly hailed as an instant genre classic; by examining the levels of awareness around writer Carl Foreman’s role; and by analysing concordances between news coverage of the House Un-American Activities Committee and that of High Noon. The article thereby seeks to illuminate the fragmentary nature of political discourse in Cold War-era popular culture.

https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/34479/

Source: BURO EPrints