Mar 29, 2024  
2017-2018 Academic Catalogue 
    
2017-2018 Academic Catalogue [ARCHIVED CATALOGUE]

HIS 257 - Topic: Reel History: The Cold War and American Film (1)

This course will explore Cold War culture through Hollywood films, examining how Americans’ fears of communism and nuclear warfare were expressed in a diverse range of genres from film noir to documentary realism to science fiction (such as Them! in which giant mutating ants threaten to take over Los Angeles). Despite its production of anti-communist films, Hollywood came under attack from the House Committee on Un-American Activities. As a result, many people working in the film industry were denied their civil liberties and black-listed. We will also examine how Cold War ideologies about “race” and gender also played out onscreen and off. In addition to film screenings, there will be a large amount of course readings.
(Humanities)