The Culture of the Cold War

In this essay, the author

• Analyzes how the "cold war" after world war two has become one of the most complex and studied eras since america's birth.
• Analyzes how a devastating "specter" was present during the era after the war. the monster's birth came from the writings of karl marx whose views were almost completely opposite from our capitalistic views.
• Explains that communism was loathed in america and the other democratic nations. stalinist russia had the worst of the world’s slave labor camps known as the gulag archipelago.
• Analyzes how whitfield argues that it is wrong to extend sympathy to these american communists because they stand for ending american civil liberties that they saw as only for the upper class.
• Analyzes how the red scare of communist infiltration was an invisible foe which made it quite aware to political leaders that finding the source and ending it was impossible.
• Explains that the nuclear foreboding stemmed from the republican doctrine that we would engage any marxian movement with "massive retaliation".
• Explains that communism was a horrible evil entity that was almost impossible to pin down. censorship and boycotting ran rampant through the streets of america condemning almost everything the least bit suspicious.
• Argues that it is wrong to say that the culture of 1950's america coincides with the cold war.
• Explains that republicans jumped on the movement of super anti-communism stronger and faster than the democrats. liberalism was seen as soft in the eyes of money because of their ability to ruthlessly fight invisible communists like barry goldwater republicans.
• Analyzes how the paranoid ravings came about with the trial of democratic congressman alger hiss. whitfeild feels that there was substantial evidence against him to merit such a trial.
• Analyzes how the fear of being caught if you failed to "act right" was savagely executed by republican senator joseph mccarthy.
• Analyzes how joe mccarthy created his image as some invincible "demagogue" according to whitfield.
• Analyzes how stephen whitfield describes the abstract ideologies that kept our culture pumping during this era.
• Analyzes how truman's firing of macarthur for insubordination was cowardice in the face of the red behemoth.
• Explains that macarthur's boundless bravado attitude was meant to aid in the amazing prosperity of this era. the fbi and justice department were going crazy to uphold this perfect family ideal because the "barbaric russians" didn't behave like the wholesome suburban nuclear family.
• Analyzes how whitfield asserts that religion added heat to an already burning tension during this cold war.
• Analyzes how the justice department aversion to communists and sympathizers led to the death of huac in the early sixties.
• Opines that films, television, and media made a huge impact on our culture during the cold war.
• Analyzes how whitfield feels that hollywood was thrust into the cold war in 1947 when huac came to los angeles.
• Analyzes how the cold war coincided with the birth of a great new medium of our culture, television, which aided in killing some of the previous culture.
• Analyzes how the proverbial "classic" era of the cold war ended with the end of stalin's reign and his excesses.
• Analyzes how whitfield describes the changing entertainment culture with movies like the manchurian candidate, stanley kubrick's dr. strangelove and joseph heller’s novel catch 22.
• Analyzes how stephen whitfield captured the essence of paranoia, fear, submission, and all of the other wonderful aspects of america that dominated the culture during this era.