Destination Moon: A Trip To The Moon

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By the 1950s, the film industry was in full swing, and going to the movies became a routine pastime for many. One way in which studios kept audiences returning to movie theatres occurred with the development of science fiction films. Though science fiction films had already been around for decades with films such as A Trip to the Moon and Frankenstein, it became an overwhelmingly popular genre and was in its prime throughout the 1950s. The production of science fiction films drew audiences in, becoming one of the most significant genres of the decade. There were a number of different categories of science fiction films, including space exploration, alien invasion, and monster movies. The reason for the rise in popularity of science fiction films leads back to World War II, and the genre remained popular …show more content…

The film, produced in 1950, follows a team of astronauts on their journey to the moon. Once they arrive however, they realize that their spacecraft is too heavy to return home. The team has to come up with a way to make the ship work again, and eventually strips the spacecraft of most of its material, getting rid of what is not necessary in order to get home. Destination Moon has themes of patriotism and anti-communism. The film had an anti-Soviet message, as the astronauts in the film had the goal to reach the moon before any nation that posed a threat got there first. It was suggested that if an American team of astronauts reached the moon first, the world would be safe from any missile attack coming from outer space. Since the film was released at the start of the Cold War, Destination Moon’s patriotic themes are part of what allowed the film to become a success, keeping audiences intrigued. Furthermore, as stated earlier, space travel was a popular topic among Americans in the 1950s, which added even more to public interest of the

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