The Influence Of Hollywood During The Cold War

The Cold War was a state of political hostility that occurred between 1945 to the second half of the 20th century. The war became a dominant influence in American society as it was a battle between two types of governments; the United States representing capitalism and democracy, and the Soviet Union, representing communism and authoritarianism. The cold war set itself apart from the Korean and Vietnam wars, as it was a feud regarding propaganda and swaying the public rather than one of military advancements. However, it’s lack of military intervention didn’t stop the long-lasting effects on American society and the paranoidism of the Soviet Union. Aside from being a prominent aspect of American lives through political means, the values against communism struck through from glamorized aspects; Hollywood being the main example. As a propaganda tool, “national security agencies encouraged Hollywood to produce anticommunist movies … and urged that film scripts be changed to remove references to less-than-praiseworthy aspects of American history” (Cold War Influences). In 1947, Congress blacklisted ten people within the entertainment industry who might be communist and were retracted of their basic rights to privacy as well as fired from their jobs (FBI Report). It was ironic that the …show more content…
The soviet union took no breaths when it came to smashing the united states for their greed. During the cold war, new innovations and products for the public came out, claiming to give you the American dream life of luxury through hard work. The “Consumer culture demonstrated the superiority of the American way of life to communism and virtually redefined the nation’s historic mission to extend freedom to other countries” (Foner 878). This action became the backbone of American culture as well as becoming a way for the large industries to capitalize on fear and create a sense of