Effect of Cold War Films on Public The U. S. A. and USSR were taught to despise each other through harsh propaganda. The military between the two suffered massive tension, that was enough to escalate into World War 3. Filmmakers portrayed the public view on the cold war. The Day After is a film that captured the emotional intensity of the cold war. Red Dawn displayed a good example for the predictions of what could have happened if the cold war escalated into a World War. Rocky IV is a great metaphorical film that symbolized the tensions and reactions of the USSR and U. S. A.
There was a tense relationship between the USSR and U. S. A. Filmmakers rendered these relations and views of the cold war. In The Day After, Filmmakers exemplify the immense emotional intensity of the American people. “What distinguishes “The Day After” from every previous treatment of nuclear war is that it forces us to graphically experience the ground-zero agonies of ordinary people”(Newsweek). The films diverse selection of characters makes the film more realistic and bring forth a more meaningful effect. The characters are Just typical people doing their usual routine.
People like college students, farmers, doctors, and so on. “The Day After is not about politics or politicians or military decision-makers. It is simply about you and me??”doctors, farmers, teachers, students, brothers and kid sisters engaged in the usual love and labor of life in the month of September”(Hume, Edward) said the screenwriter of The Day After. In the film, as the people are going about their day, the radio or TV is playing in the background informing about the USSR updates. When all of a sudden the USSR’s nuclear weapons come in contact with the U. S. d the film shows the horrific explosions and radiation exposure. The Day After had such large effect on the American people, that the movie went viral and stirred an uproar among the United States. However this uproar was not necessarily a good one. “The movie, [Nuclear-Freeze Resolution] fear, may leave viewers so numbed by a sense of hopelessness and helplessness that they will merely sink into a deeper apathy’ (Baran, Josh) said a media coordinator. However, the movie did spark up the Anti-Nuclear Movement that coincides and reinforces a growing nuclear consciousness.
The movie, Red Dawn, captures a very cultivating perspective of the cold war. Red Dawn is about several teenagers rebelling against the invasion of the Soviet Army. “Red Dawn is extraordinarily violent – its body count is actually higher than the R- rated Rambo: First Blood Part II, released a year later, and was once hailed as the most violent movie ever by the Guinness Book of Records” (Lamble, Ryan). It is amusing that MPAA gave Red Dawn a PG-13 rating, which is lenient considering the high amount of people that are shot and blown up, with a rate of 134 acts of violence er hour.
This may be because of the desire to make this movie flourish and expand to all audiences to make them aware of the possible crisis that could have escalated. Red Dawn, however, rarely included any U. S. military action. The message could portray that the U. S. A. would be too weak to fght back. Red Dawn was the 20th highest grossing film of 1984, opening on 10 August 1984 in 1,822 theatres and taking effective enough to the public that it sparked up a cult. Rocky IV is a popular movie that symbolized the cold war of the U. S. and the USSR. The movie is about a kickboxing match between a boxer from America and the Soviet Union.
The USSR boxer was destroying Balboa, or Rocky, and Rocky barely left a scratch on the USSR boxer. This symbolized how the U. S. was Just waiting anxiously for the USSR’s threat to come to life. The USSR kept bullying on the U. S. and the U. S. was Just acting as the Soviets punching bag. However, when Rocky was Just about to lose the match, he bounced back and beat the USSR boxer. This symbolizes the U. S. A. ‘s fght back, giving the ultimate punch. The HBO Special: The 1980 Olympic Hockey Team is an outstanding documentary ased on the Olympics during the Cold War.
The U. S. Hockey Team was made up of mostly college boys. As these future professional hockey players were practicing, America was undergoing major economic and political/military depression because of the Cold War. The U. S. had no hope to recover, especially under all the terrorist attacks and the Soviet’s missile threats. Americans lost a lot of pride in their country. However, one hockey game changed everything. When the young U. S. team was up against the undefeated Russian team, it was expected that the USSR would win and win by a lot. Instead, the U.
S. beat the Russians. Therefore, they won the Olympic gold medal for hockey. That was a proud moment in the U. S. , where all the lost pride was restored. The films and movies, The Day After, Red Dawn, Rocky ‘V, and HBO Special: The 1980 Olympic Hockey Team, rendered the perspectives of the Cold War by the American people precisely. Each film caused the audience’s views and emotions to change towards the Cold War. The Day After and Red Dawn focused on the predictions and emotional intensity of the possibilities of the Cold War escalating into World War 3.
Rocky IV and the HBO Special: The 1980 Olympic Hockey Team concentrated on the U. S. depression to pride and integrity. The filmmakers portrayed the Cold War as a tense, daunting, and high climaxed event. Works Cited Lamble, Ryan. “Looking Back at Red Dawn. ” Movie Reviews, Cult TV, Games & Comics Reviewed, Discussed & Appreciated. N. p. , 12 Mar. 2012. Web. 10 June 2013. “NUCLEAR LANDSCAPE: A LOOK BACK AT THE DAY AFTER. ” CONELRAD Adjacent. N. p. , 16 Aug. 2010. Web. 10 June 2013. Waters, Harry F. “TVs Nuclear Nightmare. ” Newsweek [New York] 21 Nov. 1983, Special Report sec. : n. pag. Print.
