Occasionally films plumbed the almost-unthinkable subject of nuclear war (ON THE BEACH, 1959), while many others indirectly invoked the concept of nuclear threat by focusing on a fear of new or alien technology (as was the case in science fiction films like THE THING, 1951; THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, 1951; and FORBIDDEN PLANET, 1956). Internal subversion and the threat of communism at home was another theme pursued in films both directly, via the anti-Communist cycle of films and indirectly, in science fiction and other genre films. A general set of themes in the time period was distrust, hatred, and anxiety among humans, explored in such varied genres as suspense thriller, film noir, Western, and even love story. One cultural critic has declared that virtually all the anxieties of popular culture in this period are ultimately nuclear anxieties.
1 However, for many Americans the early 1950s was an era of peace and prosperity. Americans were marrying and having babies at a record rate. New suburban towns modeled on Long Island's Levittown were springing up around the major cities. Homebuilding, automobiles, and electric appliances were the foundations of a very strong consumer economy. With a political move toward the Right came an attempt to shake off the internationalism of the New Deal and to return to the insularity of the pre-World War II period.
This is a free page. This page contains 195 words. This
article contains 15,521 words (approx. 52 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Article with our Genres and Production Access Pass.
