Science-Fiction Films During The 1950's

What were Edwin S. Porter's significant contributions to the development of early narrative film? In what sense did Porter build upon the innovations of contemporaneous filmmakers, and for what purposes?

Science fiction is a fairly new genre compared to many other literature styles but is one of the most relevant and evolving literary classifications. It is a huge genre that encompasses many different types of stories such as dystopian, utopian, superheroes, and more. Science fiction is primarily used as a reflection of society as well as a forecast of what current society could become. Science fiction is argued to be a “Gedankenexperiment,” or thought experiment, because it conveys deeper meanings on where society is heading and forces the reader to challenge their views about the world. Science fiction uses a human centric theme that includes changing variables to create a thought experiment which

It promotes posturing; encourages speculation; and creates hysteria. This theme permeated American politics and popular culture during the McCarthy era of the 1950s. As WWII ended, nations began to polarize. The United States and the Soviet Union emerged as the leading economic and military states, and began competing for influence throughout the countries they now occupied upon liberation from Germany and Japan. Under the banner of their own brand of idealism, they individually sought geopolitical control and economic benefit. As the stakes increased, competition between the two powers spread to the atomic arena and the exploration of space. The result for the next 45 years is a saga of fear not only of the other side,

In this essay I will analyze two Cold War American Films, War Games and Dr.Strangelove. Both of these films portray the cold war era, where it was uncertain when and if nuclear fallout would happen. I will start off by giving a brief summary of both films. Then talk about some cold war culture such as posters, TV shows, and historical events discussed in class, as well as some aspects of plot in the films, such as the leaders in power in each film and finally compare both films to the culture shown and argue that they both accurately portrayed it.

The Cold War developed between the Soviet Union and the United States in response to post-World War II tensions between the two nations. The U.S. and the U.S.S.R. emerged from World War II as the only two countries able to propagate their specific social and political systems on a global scale. With expansive capitalist (United States) or communist (USSR) ideologies and powerful military forces, each nation feared and distrusted the other. This cultural clash resulted in mutual suspicions, propaganda campaigns, media battles, and international incidents that brought these two superpowers to the brink of nuclear devastation. No direct military conflict between the two nations ever ensued; however, the constant threat of nuclear proliferation held the world’s concentrated attention on the two superpowers from 1945 to 1991. Fueled by modern weapon development, aerospace triumphs, and spirited Olympic Games, the power struggle was a constant rivalry that permeated all aspects of the global landscape including sports competitions and mass media. By the 1970s, television viewing outstripped the motion picture market, but Hollywood continued to produce a wide array of cinema selections including military, spy, and sports genre films that promoted America’s need for a strong, masculine presence while idolizing the male physique.

Amidst these, cold war fears re-emerged when in 1956 Soviet Union invaded Hungary after its withdrawal from Warsaw Pact and in the same year space race began when Soviet launched Sputnik I into space. Though the communist presence of J.Edgar Hoover loomed, and with the public demise of McCarthy in 1954, the paranoia and Red baiting of the early decade ebbed. Halliwell rightly quotes Ronald J. Oakley who in his book God’s Country: America in the 50’s calls it “a period of paradoxes”, and “fidgety mix of anxiety and relaxation, sloth and achievement, complacency and self-criticism” (49). After Soviet Union exploded atomic weapon in 1949 soon after World War II, it made Americans wondering about Soviet espionage and the nation was gripped by fear “Better dead than Red” the anti-communist slogan that was in rife during World

When I saw images of aliens and spaceships in the title sequence of The Day the Earth Stood Still, I wondered what this movie could have to do with American history. But upon viewing, it became very apparent that this film had as much to say about the 1950s as any documentary. This movie demonstrates how early Cold War tensions and anxieties could affected relations between nations and people (or in this case, planets and aliens), and portrays women in their ideal socially-constructed roles.

The Thing from Another World, directed by Christian Nyby, premiered in 1951 as a horror/ science fiction film. This film dealt with the possibility of Soviet invasion; focusing also on the idea of the American Dream when faced in a crisis. If Invasion deals with containment, then The Thing engages with the possibility of an upcoming Third World War. Christian Nyby’s film deals with the discovery of an extraterrestrial being in the North Pole by scientists and the air force. Considered harmless because of its frozen state, the crew transports it back to their base, but it unfreezes due to the carelessness of one man. This raises the question of whether it should be captured for scientific research or killed to ensure survival. This is the main

Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day (1996) mirrors the ideology of a sci-fi film outlined by Susan Sontag in the Imagination of Disaster so closely that it borders on a lack of creativity. That is what qualifies this film as a ‘revival’ of the sci-fi genre following revisionist works like Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). This film, among other things, believes that femininity in leadership will lead to disaster on the political stage and that personal relationships should mirror the ideals of this government balance. This scene uses framing and set design re-erect themes of the traditional sci-fi ideology such as the military embodiment of masculinity and the weak femininity of a ‘scientist’. This scene also sets the stage for what Sontag calls the balance of a ‘good war’ and the ‘yearning for peace’ which unfolds throughout the film. The ideology of Independence Day is despairingly unoriginal, touching on almost all themes outlined by Sontag as what makes the science fiction genre.

This adaptation is about reclamation. What exactly are we reclaiming? Space. The space to belong, the space to express ourselves and our ideas, the space to consider our bodies in spaces traditionally not accessible to us. It is about modernizing social movements to serve all members of the community, not just those privileged enough to have a platform of power. To that end, An (Un)American Daughter is not a celebration of how far we have come as a society. But, more importantly, it is about revealing how far we have left to go and how much is left to accomplish. When Wasserstein first wrote this play, it was seen a play that lacked a concrete sense of direction and simplistically regurgitated social values in the mid-1900s (CITATION). Ben Bradley for The New York Times wrote that neither the direction nor the dialogue could “conceal the feeling that she doesn’t know entirely where she’s heading or how to get there” (CITATION).

From 1948 to 1991 countless anti-communist films were made, dominating the stage of transnational politics and geostrategic affairs between East and West from the beginning to the end of the USSR. The Cold War would impose an atmosphere bursting with tension on the world film production arena. The main tense issues that prevailed included but were not limited to: Communist expansionism, American Imperialism, an arms race including a nuclear menace, the subjugation of space, and the infamous intelligence and counter-espionage clash. It is important to note that the skirmishes amongst these main actors- the Unites States and The Soviet Union- was not only in the domain of defense and economy, but also encompassed ideology and culture. The latter was especially mirrored in the cinema.

Perhaps one of the most versatile genres in films, television, books, artwork and any number of things today is science fiction. Many times I have seen a sci-fi movie filed under comedy or drama. That is one of the major things that has led to my love for science fiction, the simple fact that it can be so much more than just science fiction. I would like to present a definition of what science fiction is in this paper. My definition will not be exact, because so many people have a different idea of what counts as sci-fi and, not only that, but we may have found yet another venue for science fiction by the time this paper is complete. In order to define what science fiction is and to support my definition, I am going to give some examples

Science fiction is a genre of unproven fiction, typically dealing with creative concepts such as upcoming science and technology, space travel, time travel, faster than light travel, as well as extraneous life. Science fiction often explores the possible consequences of scientific and further variations, and has called a prose of ideas. It usually avoids the paranormal, and the connected genre of fancy, traditionally, science-fiction stories were anticipated to have a root in science-based fact or idea at the time the tale was generated

Movie theater tickets have become increasingly more expensive in recent years. As a result, movie genres that offer a broad range of entertainment and stimulation can make the theater going experience more worthy of the ticket price. Some of the more popular movie genres today are mysteries, science fiction, romantic comedies, animation, documentaries and horror films. Although all of these movie genres may be enjoyed in a theater, horror movies are more worth the ticket price because the theater offers voluminous sound and vast visual experiences you cannot recreate at home. What better way to experience the stimulation of a horror film than in a dark theater with roaring sound and a picture that is bigger than life?