“Haven’t we learned anything from history?” – Deadline

In the first weeks of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, I spoke with Hollywood historian William Mann about the profound impact the 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic had on the film business. In the interview, he pointed out some important mistakes made in managing the Spanish flu pandemic that today’s authorities should learn from, including reopening too soon. At a time when masks were still scarce and not required for nonessential workers, he spoke on the subject of wearing masks in 1918 and why the best film actors refused to put one on in public at the time.

Three months later, face coats are mandatory in most states, although President Donald Trump, some of his close associates, and Republican lawmakers still refuse to wear them in public. Several states would not impose a face mask requirement, and there has been resistance to enforce or enforce such orders in the states that have them in effect. That’s despite new infections in the US that have broken records in recent days and despite studies showing that using most Americans to cover their faces would save up to 30,000 lives in the fight against COVID-19. .

In light of the controversy covering my face, I contacted Mann, author of Tinseltown: Murder, morphine and madness in the dawn of Hollywood, who elaborated on the parallels to 1918, lamented the partisan division on the subject of the mask and issued a stern warning to those who politicize it or make it a matter of masculinity.

“Facial masks, or the lack of them, was also a problem in 1918-1919. People didn’t have enough masks, just like we did at the beginning of this pandemic, and then when more masks became available, again like today, there was no national leadership on the importance of wearing them, “he said.” Some of Hollywood’s great male stars saw wearing a mask as cowardly: They felt they would look like a wimp if they wore a mask. Douglas Fairbanks attended a large public demonstration and deliberately did not wear a mask. “

“One hundred and two years later, we are seeing the same thing. It has become this masculine and macho position among some segments of the population, with a clear partisan division. But wearing a mask shouldn’t be political – this is a public health problem. Recall that in 1918-1919 between 500,000 and 800,000 Americans died. We have the power to prevent that number from getting that high again. Some estimates indicate that this pandemic will have approximately half the death rate as the previous one. But that shouldn’t give us any comfort. The number would still be too much to bear. We are already at almost 130,000 deaths in this country. Have we learned nothing from history?

As we celebrate July 4, Bill Pullman, star of the hit movie most closely associated with the holiday, Independence Day, in which he played one of the most macho screen presidents, Thomas J. Whitmore, made his own passionate plea with a “Celebrate Freedom.” Wear your “PSA mask. You can see it below.

There was another mistake from 1918, which Mann warned authorities in April not to repeat, reopening too soon.

“Often these closings were lifted in 1918 too early. People were still dying from this in March and April and May 1919. Mary Pickford, who was the biggest movie star of the time, gets it in early 1919, so the theaters would reopen and no one would come and then they would close as the death rate continued to rise, “he said. There needs to be more consistency: hopefully, hopefully, we have learned from 1918.”

In the midst of a spate of new coronavirus cases, California Governor Gavin Newsom this week closed movie theaters, bars in indoor restaurants just a couple of weeks after easing restrictions on opening them.

You can see below a timeline of the 1918 epidemic in Hollywood, illustrating how California and Los Angeles authorities dealt with the Spanish flu crisis. Click here to read Mann’s original interview, which detailed the catastrophic changes that the 1918 pandemic brought to the film business, including the establishment of the studio system, which continues to dominate Hollywood, and vertical integration, with studios fighting for control over the cinemas of the owners of mom and dad. It also addresses what major shocks the current pandemic could bring (especially on theater property), and how long it would take for Hollywood to recover.