In October of 1947, The House Un-American Activities Committee launched hearings in Washington, D.C., to investigate Communist influence in the motion picture industry. Writers, actors, directors, and other industry figures were called before HUAC and commanded to "name names": to save themselves by betraying their colleagues. In what amounted to a signal instance of cultural repression, those who defied HUAC were shouted down - and marked down on lists that ruined their lives and careers.