American Futurism in the Atomic Era

Cold War Anxieties over Science

              Popular sentiment among Americans during the Cold War veered from complacent faith in progress to apocalyptic dread. Media sources portray a range of feelings from hopeful optimism spurned on by economic growth to growing fears about nuclear catastrophe and the communist threat (see Clip 02, "It's Everybody's Business," below for a propaganda cartoon, produced 1954, encouraging Americans to spend to support capitalism and the nation.) It is difficult to authoritatively state the cause and effect of particular events, policies and media. Generally, historical accounts rely on philological evidence to denote trends and significant movements. However, a significant amount of textual and visual material produced during the Cold War was based on manufactured sensationalism. This exaggerated push of marketed futurism distorts the significance that can be given to particular evidence, no matter how abundant. Science fiction works, such as 1984, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the literature produced by Ray Bradbury and Robert Heinlein explored these questions and issues surrounding how technology will negatively affect society. Anxieties regarding nuclear weapon usage were suppressed in many mediums but the metaphor in science-fiction was obvious. Post-apocalyptic civilizations, mutations caused through nuclear catastrophe and mind-control narratives expressed the concerns of unchecked scientific progress. These films and narratives show the dichotomy of how Americans viewed science in the post-war world by assigning archetypes to scientists. Professor of Communications, Victoria O'Donnell, explains that scientists were either, “responsible for the problems that arose, or they were responsible for finding solutions to whatever was threatening the planet."[1] The primary themes of the science fiction genre popularized in the 1950s emerged through the context of the Cold War and the new place of scientific advancement. In contrast, films and documentaries were produced showing only the positives of scientific progress (see Clip 03, "American Engineer, Part 1, produced 1956, for example).


Clip 02: “It’s Everybody’s Business,” film by Sutherland (John) Productions, Inc., 1954. Propaganda cartoon plays on the fears of the communist threat and encourages Americans to spend to save the nation.


Clip 03: “American Engineer (Part I),” film by Handy (Jam) Organization, 1956. A short film promoting engineering advancements and manufacturing progression in America during the Cold War. 
 
[1] Victoria O’Donnell, “Science Fiction Films and Cold War Anxiety,” History of the American Cinema, Encyclopedia.com, (Accessed September 3, 2019), https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/science-fiction-films-and-cold-war-anxiety.

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