To understand why Hollywood was so heavily influenced by the Space Race, the socio-political events at the time must be analyzed first. The 1950’s came as the continuation of the Cold War, with proxy wars such as the Korean and Vietnam War occurring at this time period. “The Cold War was anything but cold for the almost 20 million people who lost their lives during the postwar conflict” . With tensions running high in the air between the two superpowers - once former allies, the USSR and United States started a technological arms race in outer space. The political scenario and current events of the time influenced many interesting possibilities within the realm of science fiction. As an example, a few movies that utilizes this are 1951 release …show more content…
The mistrust between the nations and the people, along with the fears of the nuclear holocaust are clearly shown during the film with the interactions of Klaatu, the extraterrestrial, and members of humanity. The film itself is about Klaatu landing on Earth to relay a message from neighboring planets of the threat humans have on extending violence past Earth throughout the galaxy. Many allusions, such as the inability to gather Earth’s leaders and the use of atomic energy as an energy source rather than a weapon, reflect a world that people during the 1950s could easily relate to. The movie itself had received many good reviews and few awards, “It is by far the best of the science-fiction pictures yet produced . . .one is made to feel as if he is seeing a real-life occurrence because of the expert handling of the subject matter and the extremely fine special effects work.” We can easily see how Hollywood utilizes the public’s fear generated from the nuclear bombings in World War II and how they incorporated it into a movie to symbolize the social and political tensions of the Cold
Most of us would like to think that history is based on civil negotiations between representatives from around the world. The fact is, war has always been a disease that spreads not only in the battle field, and infects all those who come in contact with it. In the case of nuclear weapons, the United States, like many countries, raced to produce some of the most deadly weapons. Kristen Iversen shares her experiences surrounding a nuclear production facility in Boulder Colorado called Rocky Flats. The events at Rocky Flats are fuelled by secrecy and widespread hazards, it is the integration of these concepts to various aspects of her life that are at the center of Full Body Burden.
Forbidden Planet (1956), directed by Fred Wilcox, is the first science fiction film to take place on an exoplanet. The film is about a military class vessel and crew dispatched to investigate the status of a scientific exploration team on a planet in the Altair system. The captain and crew of the investigating team is surprised to find only one original crew member remaining on the planet; furthermore, the investigators find out that all the other crewmembers of the science team were viciously attacked and killed by a mysterious, unseen entity. Many elements present in the film inspired later films and shows that were of a space exploration, science fiction type. The inspiration is strongly visible in Roddenberry’s Star Trek series. One of the most interesting facets
In today's day and age, it's rare to see famous historical events and societal disasters not be picked apart by film directors and then transformed into a box office hit. What these films do is put a visual perspective on these events, sometimes leaving viewers speculating if whatever was depicted is in fact entirely true. I have never felt that feeling more than after I finished watching Oliver Stone’s JFK.
The atomic bomb created under the Manhattan Project set a new level of psychological panic. It influence media, government, and daily lives of those all around the world. The media was covering stories about protection from a nuclear attack and the government was right next to the reporters helping to further the creation of fear with their messages about preparation.
The focus of this investigation is the ability of leaders to appeal to human emotion through propaganda. Propaganda became especially prevalent in the United States of America during the Second Red Scare between 1947 and 1954. Propaganda assisted in the infiltration of anti-communist ideals. This examination specifically focuses on the extent to which film propaganda during this time period influenced anti-communist hysteria. The movies produced during the Cold War glorified American democracy and an evaluation is completed discussing the impact of this glorification on society. The analysis emphasizes how these beliefs infiltrated all genres of moviemaking, according to researchers of film propaganda and American politics. Several secondary sources are used to look at film propaganda produced during the era of McCarthyism and the anti-communist hysteria existing exclusively in this time period.
This episode of The Twilight Zone “The Shelter”, focuses on a neighborhood set into mass hysteria because there has been an announcement over the radio that an unidentified flying object has been spotted flying towards America. This is assumed to be a plane carrying an atomic bomb because of the tensions that were happening at this time between Russia and America during the Cold War. The tensions at the time of production for this episode were very high as the Berlin Crisis of 1961 had just taken place the summer before. This Crisis is why the writer of the episode, Rod Serling wanted to create a fictional scenario where there was an immediate threat of a nuclear war. Rod Serling was a soldier during WW2 which influenced his future stories
Stanley Kubrick’s sexual parody, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, illustrates an unfathomed nuclear catastrophe. Released in the midst of the Cold War, this 1964 film satirizes the heightened tensions between America and Russia. Many sexual insinuations are implemented to ridicule the serious issue of a global nuclear holocaust, in an effort to countervail the terror that plagued America at that time. Organizing principles, such as Kubrick’s blunt political attitudes about the absurdity of war and the satirical genre, are echoed by the film style of his anti-war black comedy, Dr. Strangelove.
Literature and film have always held a strange relationship with the idea of technological progress. On one hand, with the advent of the printing press and the refinements of motion picture technology that are continuing to this day, both literature and film owe a great deal of their success to the technological advancements that bring them to widespread audiences. Yet certain films and works of literature have also never shied away from portraying the dangers that a lust for such progress can bring with it. The modern output of science-fiction novels and films found its genesis in speculative ponderings on the effect such progress could hold for the every day population, and just as often as not those speculations were damning. Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein and Fritz Lang's silent film Metropolis are two such works that hold great importance in the overall canon of science-fiction in that they are both seen as the first of their kind. It is often said that Mary Shelley, with her authorship of Frankenstein, gave birth to the science-fiction novel, breathing it into life as Frankenstein does his monster, and Lang's Metropolis is certainly a candidate for the first genuine science-fiction film (though a case can be made for Georges Méliès' 1902 film Le Voyage Dans la Lune, his film was barely fifteen minutes long whereas Lang's film, with its near three-hour original length and its blending of both ideas and stunning visuals, is much closer to what we now consider a modern science-fiction film). Yet though both works are separated by the medium with which they're presented, not to mention a period of over two-hundred years between their respective releases, they present a shared warning about the dangers that man's need fo...
The Cold War ushered in a new era in the American society that would change the way in which everyday life was carried on by the public. Men, women and children were convinced to fit the “average” mold that was promoted through propaganda issued from the American government and media. Events, such as the McCarthy hearings and Hollywood Blacklisting, contributed to the overwhelming fear of nonconformity. The American public was bombarded with images of conformity such as the popular “family sitcoms” that were mass produced in the 1950’s. The insistence upon normality and conformity was also portrayed metaphorically in numerous Sci-Fi movies of the time which exemplified xenophobia, the hatred or fear of strangers or foreigners or of anything strange or foreign.
The fifties was a learning year and the 60's became the time to express everything that they learned. The 60's was a time for new and innovative ways to entertain the people. Since the blacklisting continued in Hollywood, the making or films became very difficult to express. The restrictions, such as the production codes, kept the big corporations to produce films that had no interesting subjects. These films also had to be films that show no signs of communistic values. The film industry was failing to bring in the audience to the theaters. With the TV making a big wave all over, the U.S. the film industry was losing it is money. Then in 1961 something big happened, 20th Century Fox took apart its lot. This act was one that led to a chain reaction. Studios were assuming the role of distributors. This would allow the independent companies to come in and add a new flavor to the silver screen. During this time films changed it's traditional film making ideas. Things started to get graphic, more violent, sexual and more expressive. Movies had found a new look and with the production codes now gone and the blacklisting ending, there was an explosion of ideas that would be presented to the United States.
Science fiction writing began in the early 1800’s as a reaction to the growth of science and technology. The genre is characterized by its intellectual excitement, high adventure, and its making of the fantastic possible. Due to the nature of science fiction, film has become an essential part of its popularity. Science fiction films have been popular since the earliest silent clips because of the outlandish visuals and creative fictional story lines that capture an audience’s attention. Under the guise of this popular platform, writers relay political, social and philosophical messages to their audience.
The 1960’s were full of questions, and one of the biggest questions the world was pondering about was regarding the Space Race: was the USA going to beat their communist enemy, the Soviet Union? The Space Race was a series of events that helped to symbolize and determine in the worlds’ eyes which form of government was better, communism (Soviets) or democracy (United States)? In the beginning of the race, the Soviets had the lead, and it was not looking good for America. Then the United States picked up the pace and spent well over eight billion dollars funding the space studies. This period of time made many scientists and astronauts heroes in the eyes of Americans. The Space Race was a combination of determination, intelligence, space projects, and American pride, all used to reach our exploration goals and surpass the Soviets.
Fear of a potential nuclear attack has been heightened by the media and its release of movies impacting on public opinion and fear of nuclear devastation. The lives lost after the detonation of the atomic bombs have become warning signs that changed global thinking and caused preventative actions. The Atomic Bomb The devastation brought about by the atomic bomb has caused fear among all the people that have realized the potential destructive power of its invention. The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945 completely obliterated both cities (Lanouette 30).
Imagine waking one day to witness the tragic state of hundreds of thousands of homes being left in ruins, along with the ashes and rubble of major cities, and the casualties of millions of citizens. This was evident on August 6, 1945 in Hiroshima, Japan when the first ever atomic bomb dropped. A mere three days later, and Nagasaki, Japan was also bombed, and the world was taken by storm. Even though WWII is in the past, the long-term effects on Japanese citizens and the debate on possible outcomes of the war is still discussed decades after the events. According to Peter H. Brothers in “Japan’s Nuclear Nightmare: How the Bomb Became a Beast Called Godzilla,” these events inspired film director, Ishiro Honda, to create the monster movie Godzilla,
In 1945, the United States released a nuclear bomb that destroyed the city of Hiroshima. Nagasaki was also bombed. Thousands of people died and a quarter of a million more perished of radiation poisoning (“There Will Come Soft Rains (short story)”). With the development of nuclear weapons in the world the possibility of a nuclear war was a daily fear within people (“There Will Come Soft Rains (short story)”).