Date of Award
1987
Document Type
Honors Thesis (Open Access)
Department
Colby College. American Studies Program
Advisor(s)
Charles W. Bassett
Abstract
The common bond between much of the film industry and Joseph McCarthy was insecurity and the drive for national approval. If one grasps the specific characteristics of McCarthy the man, and the methods of these politically "inspired" movies, we can to better place the period into context and acknowledge the fact that, if the citizenry is not aware, and is again caught by an ever-building wave of trickle down sentiment, the 1950s might not prove to be an isolated period in American history. Insecurity was not a fifties novelty. It still exists, and could potentially escalate anti-Communist policy and sentiment into widespread paranoia in the 1980s.
Keywords
McCarthy, Joseph, 1908-1957, Cold war in motion pictures, Motion pictures, American
Recommended Citation
Lainer, Scott, "Rise to power of Senator Joseph R. McCarthy: reflections of the Cold War McCarthy era in American film" (1987). Honors Theses. Paper 137.https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/honorstheses/137
Copyright
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