How Does US Popular Culture Present the Communist Threat?

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the Communist threat, films such as Red Planet Mars (1952) and television shows such as �I Led 3 Lives� filter the American anti-Communist effort through the defeat of Communist-controlled technology and the restoration of the conservative American Dream. Both Red Planet Mars and �I Led 3 Lives� portray the Communist threat as threatening the status quo of the American dream, stable domesticity, and the patriarchal order. Indeed, the opening of �I Led 3 Lives� exemplifies the Communist threat to Americana. Herbert states that �while the Johnson�s are grilling steaks, you�ve got something else to put on the griddle: a report for [a] special agent.� The manner in which the Communist threat disrupts American domesticity is compounded later, upon Philbrook�s statement that �Margaret is the best short-term babysitter money can buy, but until tonight you�d have never guessed they were Communists.� Since the babysitter represents a suburban figure of protection, the verbal ...

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the Christ painting is the opposite and equal manifestation of an occult mask in Calder�s laboratory, underscoring the dichotomy. The Communist deviation from religious values is literalized by Chris�s statement with regard to Calder that �You�ve got to give the devil his due. Thus, the film ensures American viewer identification with the anti-Communist cause by aligning American domesticity with religious belief and portraying the Communists as anti-religious and diabolical. In lieu of belief in religion, the Communists adhere to technology and the systems of mass communication. Specifically, Calder and the Russian authorities intercept the missives between Chris and Mars.. ...

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