Analysis Of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers

The Cold War refers to the hostile political relations between the Soviet bloc countries, and the US-led Western powers from 1945-1991, resulting from ideological and political differences (http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/cold-war). It is considered one of the most important events of the 20th century, and its effect can still be seen in contemporary world affairs. The Cold War was characterized by the omnipresent feeling of distrust, suspicion and fear. In the United States, this culture of fear was often called the Red Scare, or the era of McCarthyism. It was most prominent during the early fifties, but started to die down when Senator McCarthy was discredited and relations between the US and USSR thawed.

The plot of the movie follows Doctor Miles Bennell (played by Kevin McCarthy) working in a small town called Santa Mira, who discovers that the residents are being replaced by mindless, emotionless duplicates. The movie can be interpreted in several ways: one interpretation being that the director was criticising Communism and Communist ideologies, as well as reflecting the public’s fear of a subversive Communist invasion. Another possible interpretation is that the director was criticising the culture of conformity that developed in the United States partly as a result of the Red Scare and McCarthyism, and partly as a result of the increasingly ‘modern, urban, technologically bureaucratic society’ (Mintz). Conformism arose out of a need to escape the fears and insecurities of a confusing new world. The Red Scare meant people feared being ostracised, and so tried to be as ‘American’ as possible, conforming to the existing societal norms. This can serve as an explanation for the explosion in popularity of suburbia, more and more people moved to the outskirts of cities to live in cookie cutter

Nuclear warfare would be an ever-present threat throughout the Cold War, and it affected Americans’ lives. These nuclear anxieties can be seen to be reflected in the many science fiction movies involving monsters created from nuclear destruction, such as Them! ( The science fiction genre specifically grew in popularity because it allowed directors to address the problems of the fifties’ like the Red Scare, McCarthyism through metaphor without fear of censure.
Invaders from mars, The day the earth stood still, It, Them, Red planet mars http://scua.library.umass.edu/exhibits/uncertain/about.htm Although a certain amount of weight should be placed on the start of the Cold war and the ushering in of the nuclear age in the surge in popularity of the science fiction genre, other important factors should not be dismissed.