ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an extensive overview of the depiction of corporate or industry wrongdoing in Hollywood films, from the beginning of the “talkie” until the end of the 1970s. The 1930s introduced audiences to the nefarious businessman, an antagonist who arrived at the Depression-era. The era was also impacted by the production code, New Deal policies and the continuation of the Red Scare. In the 1940s, pro-business sentiments were the norm, as War propaganda films dominated Hollywood. That said, the 1940s also featured The Grapes of Wrath, How Green Was My Valley, and Citizen Kane. The communist witch-hunts and McCarthyism strongly impacted film content in the 1950s. However, the 1950s featured several films that explored corporate culture. In the 1960s, Ralph Nader became a prominent figure in consumer advocacy. However, film depictions of corporate wrongdoing were almost non-existent and limited to a handful of comedies. The 1970s featured a generation of young filmmakers who explored paranoia and distrust of government and corporations – the decade introduced audiences to the “whistleblower” while also delivering rather intense portrayals of increasing corporate control within politics and the media.
