Cold War Propaganda

Learning Intention:We will be able to describe the different methods used for propaganda during the Cold War

IntroductionLI: We will be able to describe the different methods used for propaganda during the Cold War

• Used by USA & USSR throughout the Cold War

• Reached its heights in the 1950s and 1960s

• USA Propaganda– Demonise Communism– Extol virtues of capitalism and

democracy

• Pro-American values were promoted in film, television, music, literature and art.

• Done openly and often with little subtlety

Early Propaganda FilmsLI: We will be able to describe the different methods used for propaganda during the Cold War

Meet King Joe (1949)A Cold War cartoon aimed at American workers with the objective of convincing them of their good fortune.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbw8DFwoqJ0

Questions:1. Who is King of the workers?2. Why is he King of the workers?3. What makes Joe the ‘luckiest guy in the world’?4. How much more does an American railroad worker make than a

coolie?5. What does the cartoon stress is important for the success of the

worker?6. What is the purpose of a video clip such as this one? How does it

contribute to peoples ideas about Communism

Early Propaganda FilmsLI: We will be able to describe the different methods used for propaganda during the Cold War

• 1948 – Make Mine Freedom– Advantages and freedoms of capitalism

• 1949 – Meet King Joe– Told American workers to be content with their lot, as they had it

better than workers anywhere else in the world.

Make Mine Freedom - 1948 Meet King Joe - 1949

Cold-War PropagandaLI: We will be able to describe the different methods used for propaganda during the Cold War

• Over time themes and methods in pro-democracy propaganda became more subtle

• Less government production• Left to film and television studios to incorporate their ideas• Benefits that were commonly promoted:

– Nuclear family– School– Community– Obedience– Loyalty

• Communism condemned as ideology and social system• Portrayal of America under heel of communist dictatorship

common. Two examples– Red Nightmare (1962)– The Godless Communism

Red Nightmare (1962)LI: We will be able to describe the different methods used for propaganda during the Cold War

• First made in 1950s– Instructional video for

armed forces– Later released on TV

• Makes claim that entire US cities had been reconstructed in Soviet Territories– Training spies– Bring down American

government and society

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgR4apcz_Ew

The Godless Communism

LI: We will be able to describe the different methods used for propaganda during the Cold War

• Comic book (1961)• American family is taken

over by the communists virtually overnight

• Renamed ‘United Soviet States of America’

• Find all of the rights and freedoms have been abolished.

• Father relocated to a distant timber mill

• Mother to an urban factors• Children to state-run schools

and nurseries

MoviesLI: We will be able to describe the different methods used for propaganda during the Cold War

Released in 1949. About Soviet espionage

Released in 1952. John Wayne is a HUAC investigator who travels to Hawaii to stamp out Communist activity there

The Blob (1958) – science-fiction – shadowy forces hell-bent on taking control – metaphor for perceptions of communism

TelevisionLI: We will be able to describe the different methods used for propaganda during the Cold War

Leave it to Beaver – emphasised importance of

education, work, respect for families

Cold War Espionage

Children’s Cartoons – Villains have communist agendas

LiteratureLI: We will be able to describe the different methods used for propaganda during the Cold War

Envisioned a world kept divided and obedient with fears of

‘perpetual war’

Commissioned by the CIA – allegorical account of the

Russian Revolution

EducationLI: We will be able to describe the different methods used for propaganda during the Cold War

• In both USA and USSR education received big funding boosts– In particular Maths and Science– History and English steeped in

patriotism and political values

• Informative videos– How to Spot a Communist– Duck and Cover