Monsters from the Id Anxiety and Optimism in 1950s Science Fiction
(eVideo)

English

Encoded with permission for digital streaming by Infobase on February 10, 2013.

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It was the era of McCarthyism, the Korean War, and nightmares of nuclear oblivion-but, as this documentary illustrates, the 1950s also witnessed a surge of optimism and confidence in America that figured prominently in the period's science fiction cinema. Interweaving clips from over thirty classic movies, the film describes the emergence of a distinctly 20th-century archetype, the Modern Scientist, which emboldened an uncertain nation to face new challenges head-on. Chief among these was the 1957 launch of Sputnik, a principal catalyst in the international space race and a paradigm shift in the way Americans imagined space travel. Commentary on the decade's scientific and sociological transformation-and on America's shortcomings in science and technology today-comes from Homer Hickam, retired NASA engineer and inspiration for the 1999 movie October Sky; Dr. Patrick Lucanio, author of Smokin' Rockets: The Romance of Technology in Film, Radio, and Television in the 1950s; film critic and sci-fi expert Richard Scheib; and others.

9 & up.

Mode of access: Internet.

System requirements: Access Video On Demand playback platform.

Closed-captioned.