The purpose of this paper is to examine how the Cold War and the Red Scare influenced science fiction in the 1950s. First, allusions to the Cold War will be examined to observe its prevalence in pop-culture. Second, Cold War symbolism will be examined to show how the writers and audience of science-fiction felt about the Cold War. Third, this paper will examine the depiction of scientific advancement because of the Cold War. The main reason that the science fiction genre was so popular during the 1950s was the Cold War. The superpowers of the world raced, not only in military power, but also in technology. Science fiction was simply reflecting this advancement in technology. As the Space Race advanced, the whole country became obsessed with
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In the very beginning of the movie, the UFO is spotted very quickly, due to a high level of surveillance. The reason there is so much surveillance in the first place is to protect the US from communists. Afterwards, the news of the UFO is spread very quickly, showing that the Cold War increased news coverage. In the news, people are constantly told not to fear, reflecting paranoia during this era. However, despite being told not to fear, the news also exaggerates the danger of alien invasion. At one point a newspaper illustration depicts Klaatu and his ship as a much larger danger than they …show more content…
Klaatu is used as a soapbox for this message. He comes from a (mostly) peaceful planet, so it makes sense that he knows how to obtain peace. It was rather brave of the creators of this film to convey a message of peace with the communists. Especially considering that, at the time, people in the film industry who were suspected of being communists were often blacklisted, preventing them from getting hired.
Another film I watched for this paper was Invasion of the Body Snatchers. It involves people in a city being replaced by emotionless copies of themselves grown from alien seed pods. In the end, one citizen manages to escape that city, only after it has already been completely overtaken by the copies. It is implied in the end that the “body snatchers” have already started to spread to other cities. Despite this movie being considered the quintessential Cold War metaphor science fiction film.
This film seems to only convey the fears of the Cold War in the metaphorical. The “body snatching” itself is a clear metaphor for the spread of communism, albeit exaggerated. In the movie, it is mentioned that the replacements have no emotions, which they think is good, because they believe it only leads to suffering. They also act in unison, reflecting the restrictions in totalitarian
In the very beginning of the movie, the UFO is spotted very quickly, due to a high level of surveillance. The reason there is so much surveillance in the first place is to protect the US from communists. Afterwards, the news of the UFO is spread very quickly, showing that the Cold War increased news coverage. In the news, people are constantly told not to fear, reflecting paranoia during this era. However, despite being told not to fear, the news also exaggerates the danger of alien invasion. At one point a newspaper illustration depicts Klaatu and his ship as a much larger danger than they …show more content…
Klaatu is used as a soapbox for this message. He comes from a (mostly) peaceful planet, so it makes sense that he knows how to obtain peace. It was rather brave of the creators of this film to convey a message of peace with the communists. Especially considering that, at the time, people in the film industry who were suspected of being communists were often blacklisted, preventing them from getting hired.
Another film I watched for this paper was Invasion of the Body Snatchers. It involves people in a city being replaced by emotionless copies of themselves grown from alien seed pods. In the end, one citizen manages to escape that city, only after it has already been completely overtaken by the copies. It is implied in the end that the “body snatchers” have already started to spread to other cities. Despite this movie being considered the quintessential Cold War metaphor science fiction film.
This film seems to only convey the fears of the Cold War in the metaphorical. The “body snatching” itself is a clear metaphor for the spread of communism, albeit exaggerated. In the movie, it is mentioned that the replacements have no emotions, which they think is good, because they believe it only leads to suffering. They also act in unison, reflecting the restrictions in totalitarian