COLD WAR PARONOIA FILM OF THE 1950s
1950s Developments
The Post World War II World Modern Jazz & Elvis Presley
Disneyland & Mcdonalds (Both opened in 1955) Soviet Satellite
Sputnik launched DNA discovered The Cat in the Black Hat by Dr.
Seuss published Rosa Parks breaks the bus law
1950s - Tensions
The Cold War Era Rise of Communism (China, Russia, Germany WASP
Terrorism 'down South Korean War McCarthyism rising Existentialism
sinking in
Themes
Existentialism Communism McCarthyism
Existentialism
There is no meaning to life; We exist, because we exist.
Self-Determined Popular in post-war world of 1950s
Communism
Political Ideology (extreme left); Rise of the proletariat
(abolished production forces and relations); Everyone owns
everything Anti-capitalist
McCarthyism
Witch hunt started in 1950s by Senator Joseph McCarthy, Purpose
was to eliminate those with Communist sympathies; In fear that
agents were in the USA Actors were placed on the Hollywood
Blacklist - Hollywood responded with their films
Films of the 1950s
Guilt Ridden from Holocaust Era Epic & Expensive Youth
Oriented (Rebellious, Antiestablishment) Explicit in Sex &
Violence Musicals reaching prime popularity Science Fiction films
Propaganda Films - Red Scare McCarthyist and Anti-McCarthyist
Film Techniques of 1950s
Bringing ideology to narrative convention Film Allegories;
symbolism Realism Style through;
Documentary style structure and filming
Response to persecution of theHollywood Blacklist Supported
activities of the HUAC Propaganda films on the fears and threats of
Communism Written with Film Noir themes and filmed from a
Social-Historical perspectives Characters include: the Good
Communist, the Patriot Traitor, and the freedom fighter.
Anti-Communist Films
Notable Directors & Films
I married a Communist by Howard Hughes (1949) Guilty of Treason
by Felix Feist (1949) My Son John by Leo McCarey (1952)
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=VWFwFGJY4hU&feature=related)
Big Jim McLain by Edward Ludwig (1952) Kiss Me Deadly by Robert
Aldrich's (1955) (http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=zzxGKBPLc44)
Slam Films
Films that wrestled with convention thoughts,opinions and fears
of the 1950s Slammed against conventions such as Racism prejudice
in WWII armies, Nuclearisation, McCarthyism Allegories against
persecution of HUAC
Home of the Brave (1949) The Defiant Ones (1958)
Notable Directors & Films
(http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=A8x_fvh4lSQ)
On the Beach (1959) High Noon by Fred Zinneman (1952)
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkNu4sSglY&feature=related)
On the Waterfront by Elia Kazan (1954)
War Films Revived during the Cold WarStories of different wars
with different morals; World War II morals were patriotism,
teamwork, professionalism; Korean War films challenged Americans to
have conviction about their ideals; Cold War films expressed the
beauty of ideology Showed the model & essential American family
of that Era
Notable Directors & Films
Strategic Air Command (1955) Bombers B-52 by Gordon Douglas
(1957)
Science Fiction Films
Emerged in its Golden Age in the 1950s Through entertainment,
Directors placed messages about current political situations in
their films; Science Fiction films were metaphoric and symbolic
Anti-Communist films Eg: Aliens were often metaphors for evil
forces, and Communists. Monsters-in these films- were generated
from Atomic Bombs.
Notable Directors & Films
The Day The Earth Stood Still by Robert Wise (1951)
(http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=OfpSXI8_UpY)
The War of the Worlds by Byron Haskin (1953) Invasion of the
Body Snatchers by Don Siegel (1956)
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjzblCbsuA)
The Man from Planet X (1951)
End
Bibliography (No Formatting)
http://www.loti.com/fifties_movies/1950s_science_fiction_films.htm
http://www.answers.com/topic/existentialism
http://hcl.harvard.edu/hfa/films/2006winter/cold.htmlhttp://userpages.umbc.edu/~landon/Local_Information_Files/Films%20of%20the%20Cold%20War.htm
http://www.filmsite.org/50sintro.html
http://www.answers.com/topic/mccarthyism
