During the late 1940s and early 1950s, the prospect of communist subversion at home and abroad seemed frighteningly real to many people in America. The looming threat of the Cold War, with the Soviet Union as the main antagonist, created a sense of paranoia and anxiety that gripped the nation. The fear of nuclear annihilation and the spread of communism fueled a climate of suspicion and mistrust among Americans.
An eyewitness report from Poland where the author meets with members of the nation's political elite. Like the rest of the Western-leaning world, they were deeply concerned about the escalating tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. The specter of nuclear war loomed large, casting a shadow over international relations and domestic politics.
When China entered the Korean War, Chinese Americans scrambled to demonstrate their loyalty to the United States. The fear of communist infiltration and espionage led to widespread discrimination and persecution of Chinese Americans, who were often unfairly accused of being spies or sympathizers with the enemy. The Red Scare fueled xenophobia and intolerance towards anyone perceived as a threat to national security.
Twenty years ago this month, the U.S. launched a major invasion of Iraq. President George W. Bush and his administration at first drew broad support from the American public, citing the need to combat terrorism and eliminate weapons of mass destruction. However, as the war dragged on and the true motives behind the invasion became muddied, public opinion shifted and skepticism grew.
In October 1946, American occupation authorities in the Bavarian town of Bad Tölz recorded this blatantly antisemitic and racist poem, highlighting the pervasive bigotry and prejudice that existed in post-war Europe. The legacy of anti-Semitism and racism fueled fears of a resurgence of fascist ideologies and extremist movements in the wake of World War II.
At a moment when the global COVID-19 pandemic is finally loosening its grip on the public consciousness as an object of existential dread, the specter of the Cold War still haunts the collective psyche of Americans. The fear of nuclear war and the threat of communism continue to shape national security policies and global relations, influencing everything from foreign policy decisions to cultural representations of the enemy.
A sociopolitical history of zombies, from Haiti to The Walking Dead, explores how fears of contagion and societal collapse have been reflected in popular culture throughout history. The zombie metaphor has been used to symbolize a variety of anxieties, from the fear of nuclear annihilation during the Cold War to the chaos and uncertainty of the post-9/11 world.
Panic and paranoia, as a result of the decades sprawling Cold War and atomic anxiety, can be seen in numerous monster and spy films from the era. The fear of infiltration and subversion by enemy agents, both foreign and domestic, led to a wave of Cold War paranoia that permeated popular culture and fueled the imaginations of filmmakers and storytellers.
