Teaching Activities for the DVD of "The Majestic"

History Lessons of McCarthyism in the 1950s

"The Majestic" occurs during the McCarthy era, when several prominent politicians, writers and entertainers were blacklisted, preventing them from finding work. Some entertainers' careers never recovered after the McCarthy era. People blacklisted at the time included playwright Arthur Miller and actors, such as John Randolph, Lloyd Gough and Zero Mostel. Students can create a report on the life and career of a blacklisted individual or create a diary focusing on what an individual might have experienced during the trials.

One of the plot devices used in "The Majestic" is amnesia, memory loss which leads Peter Appleton to forget his identity. When the locals assure him he is someone else, Appleton readily believes them. Students can study the different types of amnesia and report their findings to the class. Your pupils can also compile a list of other appearances of amnesia in literature, movies or music. Challenge your students to find the most accurate portrayal of amnesia in popular culture they can, given what they have learned about the condition.

Give your students a creative writing assignment based around the theme of "The Majestic." Ask students to write a story about where they might end up and who they believe they might become, if they, too, suddenly lost their memory. You could also ask students to write essays around the subject, such as explaining why losing one's identity is such a common plot device in cinema and literature when amnesia victims rarely forget their identities.

Role-play the experiences people may have faced during the McCarthy trials. What questions might be asked of the suspects? How did some suspects defend themselves during the trials? During the Hollywood blacklist, many screenwriters sold their work through writers who were not blacklisted, whose names would appear in the credits. If your students were blacklisted, what might they do to bypass the blacklist to make a living?