How They Changed the World
"Reds" was an ambitious film, about the most-intriguing artists in America who wanted to changed the world. Warren Beatty's film earned twelve nominations at the 54th Academy Awards, the most by any movie that were released during 1981. John Reed's "Ten Days That Shook the World" was the main subject, and how the author's peers saw it. Some were skeptical about his motives on writing the book.
The title would refer to the Bolshevik Revolution (or the October Revolution) that happened in 1917. Reed was the first to admit that his accounts of the armed insurrection and seizure of state power wasn't objective at all. He wouldn't be faulted, as his idealist nature made him sympathized with the Red Guards and those who supported the uprising. Some critics saw it, even praising his written work. Prior to this, Reed was a journalist marching to the beat of his own drum. This caught the eye of Louise Bryant. She was a married socialite, who was bored of her gilded existence. Their affair was an intense one, where she undergone a transformation. She became a feminist and a radical on her own right.
A league of their own
Bryant's affair with Reed led to her meeting with the other important figures during that time. She would have a complicated affair with Eugene O'Neill, a celebrated playwright who had a cynical view of the world. The author of plays like "Long Day's Journey Into Night" came from a privileged background, which some wondered if he didn't care about the events on the side of the Atlantic. Then there was Emma Goldman, a noted anarchist. Reed, Bryant, O'Neill and Goldman lived in Provincetown, Massachussetts for some time. They were involved in the local theatre scene, but it wasn't hard to imagine that politics was their favorite topic of conversation.
The other notable figures were Max Eastman, a political activist and editor of "The Masses". He had a change of heart after living in the Soviet Union during the 1920s. (He might have witnessed the ruthless nature of politics.) Crystal Eastman, his sister, was the leader in the fight for women's suffrage. Louis C. Fraina was the founding member of the American Communist Party, who would get into serious trouble with (American) authorities after World War II.
As for Reed, he became one of the leading figures of the Communist Labor Party of America. "Reds" revealed that the problem between Reed and Bryant was the reason they headed to Europe. There was trouble in paradise, which was a romantic way at looking at it. But were they caught up by what was happening in Russia? There was good intention behind the novel, which the Reds saw it. (He was buried in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis.) More people praised Reed's narrative as the years went by. It wasn't about the events anymore. They even forget where Reed came from.
