McCarthyism and the Media 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 ideas promoted by McCarthyism and the anti-communistic sentiment of the times were meant to push people away from non-conventional ways of thinking. Anything that was the slightest bit left or radical or even new could be construed as communistic. After Russia’s rejection to the Marshall Plan, a strong wave of communist fear began to sweep the nation and was being promoted by the U.S. government and the media. The early development of the Russian nuclear weapon brought grounds for suspicions of leaked information and the discovery and conviction of espionage for the Rosenbergs only fanned the flames of fear. The 1940’s were plagued with endless magazine articles like “How Communists Get That Way” and “Communists Are After Your Child.” Even President Truman’s Attorney General stated “There are today many Communists in America. They are everywhere--in factories, offices, butcher shops, on street corners, in private businesses--and each carries in himself the germs of death for society.” The Cold War had created a fear that democracy was in danger and that the American people must take drastic measures to ensure the continuance of their way of life. The first step taken in searching out “Communists” in the U.S. was the development of the House on Un-American Activities Committee or the HUAC. The HUAC was formed in the 1930’s but didn’t really become active until the Cold War controversies began in the forties and fifties and would assist Senator Joseph McCarthy in rooting out the “Reds”. The HUAC distributed millions of pamphlets to the American public cautioning: “One... ... middle of paper ... ...ut these show subsequently influenced a generation into a new way of thinking and living. Families moved in rapid numbers to suburbia and wanted to be just like the Cleavers or the Andersons. The American public would never be the same, always reflecting on the perfection played out nightly on television and setting their goals to reaching that level of traditionalism. The Hollywood Blacklisting that followed the Red Scare of the 1950’s forced the media to change in order to survive the scrutinizing committees of the HUAC and various congressional committees that pushed for the social “purging” of America in hopes of searching out the “Reds” which they believed were hiding among them. This change in media came at a time when the public had become extremely receptive to such influences due to the spread of the television and the growth of the middle class who had extra money to spend on luxuries such as going to the movie theatres. The constant barrage of conformity and conservatism as well as xenophobia seen in everyday shows and movies shaped the perception of the average American to believe that liberal or radical ideas were not what normal people supported and believed in.
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Show MoreFOR ALMOST fifty years, the words "McCarthy" and "McCarthyism" have stood for a shameful period in American political history. During this period, thousands of people lost their jobs and hundreds were sent to prison. The U.S. government executed Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, two Communist Party (CP) members, as Russian spies. All of these people were victims of McCarthyism, the witch-hunt during the 1940s and 1950s against Communists and other leftists, trade unionists and civil rights activists, intellectuals and artists. Named for the witch-hunt's most zealous prosecutor, Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-Wis.), McCarthyism was the most widespread and longest lasting wave of political repression in American history. In order to eliminate the alleged threat of domestic Communism, a broad coalition of politicians, bureaucrats, and other anticommunist activists hounded an entire generation of radicals and their associates, destroying lives, careers, and all the institutions that offered a left-wing alternative to mainstream politics and culture. That anticommunist crusade...used all the power of the state to turn dissent into disloyalty and, in the process, drastically narrowed the spectrum of acceptable political debate.[1]
After WWII Americans wanted to boost the economy. One of the ways of doing this was by propaganda. Pinocchio is a prime example of such propaganda. The economy was ghastly, buildings were flattened in Europe, and the process of "rebuilding" was daunting because Europe was demolished. In 1946 Pinocchio was playing in Europe but “no revenue was coming in due to the damaged economy,”(). The ideal was to be white, heterosexual, masculine, Protestant, bourgeois, young, and American as listed in the "Text Book" on page 186. To drive society into this ideal mass media was utilized. In Classical Marxist terms, "The mass media are a 'means of production', which in capitalist society are in ownership of the ruling class. According to this stance, the mass media functioned to produce 'false consciousness' in the working-classes," (
Video games have become a huge part of the culture of young people and adults alike, and many educators are finding ways to incorporate a love of games into their teaching practice, through options like “edutainment” and “gamification”. Edutainment is media that has both a high degree of educational and entertainment value. Gamification is the use of game mechanics and thinking in an educational setting, like earning points to level up or earning achievement badges for tasks completed. Both of these methods work well to engage students in learning. However, outside of edutainment and gamification, some educators are using non-educational video games, like Minecraft, to teach a wide variety of subjects and ...
The attitude of the citizens of the United States was a tremendous influence on the development of McCarthyism. The people living in the post World War II United States felt fear and anger because communism was related with Germany, Italy, and Russia who had all at one point been enemies of the United States during the war. If the enemies were communists then, communists were enemies and any communists or even communist sympathizers were a threat to the American way of life. "From the Bolshevik Revolution on, radicals were seen as foreign agents or as those ...
As World War Two came to a close, a new American culture was developing all across the United States. Families were moving away from crowded cities into spacious suburban towns to help create a better life for them during and after the baby boom of the post-war era. Teenagers were starting to become independent by listing to their own music and not wearing the same style of clothing as their parents. Aside from the progress of society that was made during this time period, many people still did not discuss controversial issues such as divorce and sexual relations between young people. While many historians regard the 1950s as a time of true conservatism at its finest, it could really be considered a time of true progression in the American way of life.
There are several negative stereotypes associated with video games and those who play them; some of these may often hold true. However, there are plenty of learning opportunities in video games. While the direct purpose of some games is to educate or train, other games that do not directly have this purpose can still become a learning experience for the player. As Ntiedo Etuk, president of the educational video game company Tabula Digital said, “The traditional view of video games has been that they are distractions from the task of learning” (Electronic Education Report 1). Video games are an effective tool for learning and retaining skills both inside and outside the classroom environment. The basic cycle of game play--the introduction to the game, game play, collaboration, improvement of these between each round, and evaluation at the end of the game (Klievink and Janssen 159)--are nearly parallel to the traditional classroom learning cycle of reading a textbook or listening to a lecture, taking a quiz, studying, focusing on items missed on the quiz, and taking a test or exam. Within this cycle, there are many opportunities to develop and perfect both educational, life, and occupational skills.
Video games based on learning are quickly becoming known as “the new frontier of learning.” Many children who have learning disabilities have an easier time learning basic skills from playing games rather than looking through a textbook. When learning is disguised as a fun pastime, children are more likely to welcome it. Video games can be utilized in school to influence children into becoming more comfortable with their own knowledge. In some cases, children feel incompetent to their peers because they are not as gifted in math or writing. By using video games, students are not expected to compete with their classmates, so they will become confident and outgoing which, in turn, will show their true talents. A group of researchers at the University of New York conducted an experiment with a group of students that were assigned to play video games competitively or on their own. Through performing this test, they concluded that those who chose to play competitively, or on their own both had an increased final score because they were able to play at their own leisure ("Educational Video Games Can Boost Motivation to Learn.", 2013). Observing how video games can help both gifted children, as well as the individuals who are struggling, is evidence that video games can be as useful as they are
Initial studies have found that video games hold the potential for teachers and trainers to reach out to their students and provide a better understanding of the coursework (Anyaegbu, Wei, & Yi, 2012). This study’s rational examines how this could be used to benefit learning environments and the barriers toward their implementation. These questions arise because there is a need to understand the reasons for the hesitation of the implementation of video games in an educational system and to examine the benefits of this type of
Ageing, rising healthcare costs, chronic diseases, post retirement unemployment are some of the factors, which could seriously undermine the social engineering measures that overly stress upon housing as a social security solution.
There have been several studies conducted on learning and serious games, for example, a recent study by the Office of Naval Research found that video game players performed ten to twenty percent better in perceptual and cognitive ability than non-game players, and that video games helped adults process information faster(Steinberg,2012). Another study by the Federation of American Scientists found that students re...
...the ideas that are taught in schools. Games also need to intermix instruction with demonstration. This is a big difference from the basic way of learning in school, which is memorize and regurgitate. Demonstrating shows the student what it looks like and they retain the content longer.
Nowadays, video games are frequently accused of having detrimental effects on children and adolescents. The main arguments against video games are that they lead to addiction, that they provoke violence, and that they impair social development. Whether or not such claims are true has not been determined with certainty as scientific studies have produced contradictory results. Nevertheless, video games also have beneficial effects, which tend to be underrated, as they do not receive the same level of media coverage that adverse ones do, and are thus unknown to the general public. Some of the positive effects of playing video games on mental development include: stimulating analytical thinking, improving concentration, and encouraging planning and anticipation (“Video game controversies”).
Presently, video games aren’t merely toys that negatively influence the youth. They have become an alternative means for people to learn and train for work. Games teach values and essential information, and motivate its players to achieve goals. Soldiers and doctors benefit from video games as well. The collaboration of game developers and educators helps improve the quality of educational games. At present, as technology progresses, one can truly see that video games have become an important factor in learning.
Mullins, David; Murie, Alan; Leather, Philip; Lee, Peter; Riseborough, Moyra; Walker, Bruce. 2006., Housing Policy in the UK. [Online]. Palgrave Macmillan. Available from :< > 29 March 2011
"Video game play may provide learning, health, social benefits." American Psychological Association. February 2014, Vol 45, No. 2