Truman had just demonstrated the raw power of the nuclear bomb to end World War II in 1945. The cost of the war had immediately changed; the world had seen that entire cities could be obliterated in seconds. This would send a paralyzing shock across the world. After the Second World War the world was divided between two economic ideals, communism and capitalism. This would push America and the Soviet Union into the Cold War. The Cold War was an exceptionally distinct war that manifested a fear in Americans that was beautifully captured in the literature and films made by the people who lived through the Cold War. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Many Americans were immensely pleased that their country had risen victorious from the horrible world war. They were ready to return to the peace they had once known. During this period books such as Stuart Little and Goodnight Moon had become exceptionally popular with American audiences. These novels were very child-oriented and conservative, much like society at the time. There was not a shred of war in the pages of these books. These books captured the mindset of a typical American, who wanted to get through the war and clear his mind of the atrocities his country had just witnessed. Even though the time they were trying to return to was not the same as the time they were in just before the war. Before the war women were gaining many rights and freedoms that they had never had before, but America was returning to a more traditional time. This meant that women's rights would be rejected. America had begun to comply. The American middle class went through a transformation and was conforming to the guidelines established by films like It's a Wonderful Life. This movie had the image of a perfect family, with a beautiful housewife and a hard working man. The American public would be greatly influenced by the emergence of television. Television made it possible to broadcast social norms throughout the nation. Television also reinforced the importance of a happy family, because at that time a family only had a television centered in the living room, which had not been evolved for television viewing. William Whyte described the worker's thoughts perfectly with “I love my wife; I love my family; I never let them get in the way of business' in The Organization Man. Conformity would become extremely important once the Cold War began. The county had been left in the inexperienced hands of President Harry Truman. Although the Soviet Union had been a trusted ally of America and had been highly regarded by the American public during World War II, it was still communist. An ideology that America could not live with. “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” is a great mockery of communist ideology written by George Orwell in Animal Farm. The world was divided between communism and democracy. Truman instituted the Doctrine of Containment in 1945. This doctrine attempted to contain and stop the spread of communism in Europe. The border between democratic countries and countries that had been infected by communism would be known as the Iron Curtain. The Cold War would be a struggle between the world's two superpowers, taking place in countries that were in the midst of a revolution. These conflicts would be known as proxy wars. The Korean War would be the first confrontation in which the United States would be involved. In the 1950s the democraticSouth Korea, supported by America, and communist North Korea, supported by China and the Soviet Union, went to war. to war. The 38th parallel was the border between South and North Korea before the war. The United States provided 88 percent of the soldiers sent by the United Nations. Both armies penetrated deep into enemy territory but both failed to win the war. After three hard years of war neither side managed to achieve victory. In 1953 the war reached a stalemate. The 38th parallel would once again become the border. Many books about the Korean War would be written long after the war. During this war something had frightened the American public. The Red Scare had emerged in the United States of America. Senator Joseph McCarthy was a major catalyst of the Red Scare. During the period many people were accused of subversion. Communist fear had gripped the country so tightly that neighbors and family members were turning against each other. The Red Scare spawned a book titled I've Led 3 Lives, Citizen, Communist, Counter-Spy that appealed greatly to the American public; it was later converted into a 117-episode show. McCarthyism led to the Hollywood blacklist, in which screenwriters, actors, directors, musicians, and other entertainers were denied work because of their respected beliefs. Executive 9835 was signed in March 1947 by Harry Truman. This order sparked investigations of government officials. McCarthy and many others began a witch hunt looking for anyone who broke the norm and accused them of being a spy or supporting communism. If McCarthy had his way, he would have turned America into a totalitarian government. Conformity was essential in this era, because if your neighbor saw you breaking the rules and thought you were a communist, you would be reported and probably arrested, this scare led to many types of literature, especially spy literature. During this period the market was being flooded with spy literature and films. The writers and directors prayed on the fears of the American public. The execution of the Rosenbergs made the threat of espionage very real to American citizens. The first James Bond novel had been published during this time of fear. James Bond became so popular because he made the American people confident that their government had spies in the Soviet Union who were doing harm to the Soviet Union. Ian Fleming cornered the espionage market with James Bond. Many of these spy novels would have a flaw of Soviet espionage on the American side so that the American audience would feel superior to their Soviet counterparts, The Hunt for Red October would be a prime example of this. John le Carré's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy made the concept of double agents very appealing. Our Man in Havana has a more comedic approach but is still one of the most popular spy books of the time. These books reinforced American superstitions and encouraged citizens to look for the communist in their neighborhood. Espionage was not the only thing to be feared by the American public. They all knew that the United States was at any moment at the mercy of a nuclear attack. Initially the American public had no idea what a nuclear deterrent was. A nuclear deterrent ensured that if one side launched missiles, the opposing side would immediately launch a set of its own. This led to the theory of mutually assured destruction according to which neither side could launch a single missile because they knew that would mean neither side would survive the aftermath. It would be airreversible annihilation of both parties involved. It essentially prevented a nuclear war between the Soviet Union and the United States of America. The fear of the bomb was another fear that authors of this period used to their advantage. The bomb threat was becoming an immense fear among the American public, and literature and films were not helping. Many books described an accidental nuclear attack that could have ended both nations if the president had failed to convince the Soviet premier. A great example of one of these books would have to be Fail-Safe written by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler. This book set out to try to convince the American public that the bombs were incredibly dangerous and that both governments should try to dismantle their nuclear stockpiles. It was an incredibly gripping novel that made many citizens look at the sky, making sure there were no Soviet planes in the sky. The movie Doctor Strangelove took a comedic look at the same situation that Fail-Safe put the American public in. “Dear man, you cannot fight here, this is a war room” has to be one of the funniest lines in any movie. On the other hand there were books like When the Wind Blows, which takes a completely unique approach to nuclear warfare. It is presented in a comic book style and provides plenty of dark humor. It follows an elderly couple who are unaware of the nuclear attack that has hit Britain. They then suffer from radiation sickness, a fairly new concept for too many people at the time. These books and films have implanted the certainty of annihilation due to these nuclear bombs. There is another type of books concerning the Red Scare. Americans were afraid that the Soviet Union would march in and destroy everything American. These types of books were the most irrational types and probably would not have happened unlike the previous types of literature. Nothing happened to give rise to these types of books and movies, yet they have become very popular because no one wants their country to be invaded. One of the most popular books would have to be The Manchurian Candidate written by Richard Condon. A famous politician is brainwashed during his tour of Korea. For periods of time he is erased from everything that makes him American and listens to the orders given to him and then forgets it. A popular film called The Thing from Another World, the film is about an alien that crash-lands on Earth and needs to drain the blood from its victims to survive. The symbolism may be lost at first, but when looked at closely the Thing is a representation of the Soviets invading America and draining it dry. The movie The Russians Are Coming is a comedy, but it is the most obvious in pointing out that American citizens were very afraid of a Russian invasion. The most famous of all proxy wars would undoubtedly be the Vietnam War. The United States of America believed that if one state fell to communism, others would be infected. The Vietnam War lasted from the 1950s to 1982. The war lasted four separate presidents' terms. The war was between the democratic south and the communist north. The French were present at first and tried to contain communism, but then withdrew in 1954. The United States provided money and military advice to the South Vietnamese forces. When Lyndon B. Johnson replaced Kennedy, he sent U.S. forces in 1965. America was confident that its Marines would have the firepower needed to conquer Vietnam. The number of American troops would skyrocket to half a million by 1968. Many of the casualties were not reported, so that the.