Raw explains how some filmmakers have tackled the difficulty of Hawthorne's material by treating it as being firmly situated in American life of the mid-nineteenth century, while others have used Hawthorne's work to comment on various aspects of twentieth century American life. This latter device is particularly evident in the many versions of The Scarlet Letter, including a 1950 television broadcast that aired two months after senator Joseph McCarthy's speech about "card-carrying members of the Communist Party," and 1960s and early '70s versions supporting countercultural values.