He May Be a Communist!
On Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), The Manchurian Candidate (1962), and The Way We Were (1973)
August 31, 2022
59 min
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570 of 1,730
Episode 17 · August 31, 2022
He May Be a Communist!
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American Politics Episodes Around August 31, 2022
Episode 570 of 1,730 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
He May Be a Communist!
Summary
We are back for a third season! The Russian invasion of Ukraine reminded us all that “everything old is new again” and that includes Cold War tensions, nuclear fears, and paranoia about “unseen enemies.” With our organizing principle of the Cold War and Hollywood representation, we begin with the Red Scare. We discuss Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), The Manchurian Candidate (1962), and The Way We Were (1973). Together these films reveal how the Red Scare cast a wide and enduring shadow on our culture. We highlight three themes. First, Cold War paranoia was a bipartisan issue. Second, the Korean War cast doubt on the relative strength of the military and our institutions long before Vietnam did. And finally, we dispute the comforting lie that progress is inevitable, that we are always on a path towards improvement, advancement, an expansion of rights, and a greater equality among people.
Lia Paradis is a professor of history at Slippery Rock University. Brian Crim is a professor of history at the University of Lynchburg. For more on Lies Agreed Upon, go here.
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