In response to the film Atomic Cafe, and the reading of Civilian Threat, The Suburban Citadel, and Atomic Age American Women, I would like to discuss a series of thing totally connected to one another and even perhaps related to society today.
In watching the movie, I gazed around at my classmates, as well enjoying the production, laughing at parts and flabbergasted at others. On one extreme the movie glorified the prevention techniques exhibited by “Cold War Era” Americans, and on another level the movie portrayed shocking images of the victims of the bombings. I suppose at further analysis, and after the completion of the reading, I personally had to evaluate what, or rather how my brain was processing all that was being thrown at it. The movie in simplest terms was like a car crash; very hard to watch, but even harder to turn away from.
At parts the movie became scary. Not scary in the sense of a horror film, but rather scary in the sense of ignorance displayed by an American people. The film portrayed citizens as gullible. Now, I know and understand that the social norm called for a unity to arise among citizens; it called for an almost sense of nationalism to take place in which it became a pop culture to abide by gender roles and to be a proficient consumer purchasing a fashionable fallout shelter. Nevertheless, at further investigation, I felt like a brainwashing technique was being deployed. People in the army training videos, expressionless and emotionless, basically instructed American citizens to buy into the ideas the government supplied at all costs. Didn’t the people realize what they were doing? Didn’t they realize they had a chance to stick up and essentially call out the authoritative power on the sugarcoated version of life that was being implemented? In my opinion, culture as a whole really didn’t have a need to do so. The ideas of protection and unity were so widely accepted. Acceptance of what everyone is doing is a normal tendency and I accept that people were paranoid and scared. In a time like that, it is normal for a society to look for an authority of power, someone to give direction. I can’t blame people for acting this way, and of course I am generalizing, but the simple fact remains that the easiest way to have handled the conflict at the time was to just shut up and abide by what the television and radio told them.
Now, turning to the text, my mind from the time of finishing reading it to even to writing this blog, has been trying to grasp some central ideas. The text helped to give background and even more meaning to the clips in Atomic Cafe, but shed new light to the lives of individuals in the cold war era. There are two ideas in specific I want to touch on. The first being the pseudo utopia created by the American Government and other authorities in a position of power, and secondly the idealism and acceptance of gender roles and the “perfect woman.”
By pseudo utopia I am simply referring to the warm glass of milk before bed feeling, we as Americans, love to feel. I don’t mean to be harsh or cynical, just honest. We love to feel like we are invincible and always doing “good.” In the Cold War Era, the general motif was to keep quiet. How better can American citizen feel “good” as when no one is talking or at least speaking truth. I look back to books like 1984 by George Orwell. What were the lines being feed to the people . . . “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” In the text it was noted that the general societal rules to live by in the Cold War Ear were, “Love of family, loyalty to country, aid to others, faith in God, a fierce regard for freedom – and the will to work together in the traditional American ways.” All right, lets think for a minute. Sure, Orwell’s famous line are different then the ones last quoted, however in my mind I feel like the basic definition for what morality is and should be are brainwashed in the mundane chanting one must do to spit the lines of “wisdom” out of the mouth. American government was essentially spoon-feeding American citizens a load of garbage and they loved it.
The second point I want to touch on is the idea of gender roles. The acceptance that the man should be out working and the women should be housekeepers is one not really accepted in society today. Can you imagine if a public service announcement came across the television during your favorite show stating that a women’s best purpose should be in the kitchen or dusting? Sure, you and I live in a more “liberal society,” but the fact that gender roles were so potent in the Cold War Era really makes me think. The lines in the text that struck me the most was when it mentioned the FCDA as portraying homemaking as a, “serious, professional task entrusted to women.” How do we make women feel better about being degraded? We give them a title and responsibility to feel like a participant in the “war effort!” The text also mentions an article that basically scores women and explains why they need to be “housewives.” “It indicated that since women face fewer everyday hazards and fear-provoking stimuli than men, they have less practice in quering fear.” This to me is so ridiculous, but people bought it because is gave them a sense of accomplishment that they were doing good for the betterment of America.
Another point that goes hand in hand with gender roles is the idea of the “perfect woman,” or as indicated by the text, “the atomic woman.” Thus came the idea of “bombshell.” The bombshell being a, “deeply desirable, unattainable woman with an inflated body and intense sexuality.” Linda Christians of course being the one to set the standard with her bikini layout in Life magazine. What amazes me about this portrait is the fact that her “specifications” were laid out. The caption entices the audience to read, “Has red hair, green eyes. She is five and a half feet tall and weighs one hundred and eighteen pounds.” This has essentially become what a “beautiful woman” is even in our contemporary culture. I feel like in a time of repressed sexual energy and a face value of morality, such as the Cold War Era, this picture truly does show the image of an “atomic lady,” which people had to notice and which would have had to make people talk. I love the idea of the family in “Leave it to Beaver,” opening up a life magazine and seeing Christians in her bikini. Then again I love the idea of any of the people in the Cold War Era seeing and hearing the real truth up close and exposed.
