After the Great Depression, the narrative of the classless society was formulated in Hollywood and a film full of subtle social criticism was invented. But this came to an end just a few years later: all communist sympathies were exorcised from the filmmakers and an unadorned ideal of chastity and moderation was imposed. Though many films were lost at the same time, more than 1500 reels of unused editing material survived in an archive: rejects and stock films in which the old, idealistic Hollywood still shines forth. “Make believe” searches for traces of the lost fighting spirit, looks behind the scenes and assembles the material into a narrative of public spirit and solidarity.
