Lilian Hellman wrote that Hollywood responded to the "wild charges of Joe McCarthy with the force and courage of a bowl of mashed potatoes."

Universities were just as weak.

This 1986 @bostonreview.bsky.social article explains how it went down step-by-step.
https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/reading-writing-and-redbaiting/?utm_source=Boston+Review+Email+Subscribers&utm_campaign=bed9206ee0-from_the_archive_3_30_25&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_2cb428c5ad-bed9206ee0-41008409&mc_cid=bed9206ee0&mc_eid=c1a79fc35d