Paranoia, the Bomb, and 1950s Science Fiction Films Review

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(More customer reviews)The one thing I can recommend about this book is that it is a quick read. I finished it in one afternoon and was able to get enough information out of it to make it worth my time. However, you sometimes wish a little more was put into the book which seems more a collection of essays then anything else. The same ideas are reintroduced in every chapter and too much psychoanalysis is being used that doesn't seem strongly supported by the cinematic examples. However, I learned a lot which is why I'll give it the four stars. The author provides a generic basis by which to look at science-fiction film of the 50s (such as a fear of radiation, of the scientists who were now denouncing the bomb, and the fear of the bomb being used against us). I also like that the author doesn't ramble on. Even though she could have been more specific and concrete in her analysis, the book is only 100 pages instead of say 200 or 300 (which is sometimes the case). What would have been nice however is a concluding chapter on how other countries portrayed the bomb and how it compared to America's (such as Japan).

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Paranoia, the Bomb, and 1950s Science Fiction Films arguesthat 1950s sf films open a window on the cultural paranoia thatcharacterized 1950s America, a phenomenon largely triggered by thediscovery and use of nuclear weapons during World War II. This studyuses psychoanalytic theory to articulate a precise definition ofparanoia. The various monsters that people 1950s sf-giant insects,prehistoric creatures, mutants, uncanny doubles, to name a few-serveas metaphorical embodiments of a varied and complex culturalparanoia. Postwar paranoia may have stemmed from the atomic bomb, butit came to correlate with a much wider range of public issues andevents such as anti-communism, internal totalitarianism, scientificprogress, domestic problems, gender roles, and sexuality. In thetroubled Atomic Age, sf films offered audiences perfectly structureduniverses that provided comfort and relief while simultaneouslyreminding them of their darkest fears.

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