The Cold War embodied the growing tensions between the east and the west, and polarized movies as well. As tensions grew between the USSR and the US, American foreign policy appeared in various ways on the big screen. Nameless, tyrannical foes appeared battled by an “average Joe.” The Cold War and its threats of a nuclear Armageddon tormented the world from 1945 to 1991. Themes in movies and stories originating during the Cold War resonated with themes the American public was facing and is seen in Star Wars, Star Trek and The Lord of the Rings.
Nameless fears paralleled the amorphous fear of Communism after the Second World War. In the Stars Wars Episode IV (1977), Luke Skywalker fends against the ominous Darth Vader, who is part machine part human. In this first Star Wars movie Skywalker must defend his freedom from the storm troopers of the Empire. Skywalker and his partners, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and two robots, join with a rebellion which aims to contain the influence of the empire to where it has already spread. The first U.S foreign policy to deal with the Communist threat was containment, similar to the goals of Skywalker’s friends. Darth Vader and his storm troopers represent Communism. The identical costume makes individuality impossible; every storm trooper single-mindedly follows orders.
Vader is never given a face, he can be anyone, and reports to an unknown Emperor as seen in the subsequent movies. Torture, bullying and carelessness about human life characterize Vader, just as the Soviets were known for their heavy handed methods, especially leaders such as Stalin. In Star Trek First Contact (1996), the Cold War feelings are reflected. The Borg emerge as the foes of Federation, which resembles the West. The Borg are a collective, one mind for millions of bodies. They are a synthesis of machine and organism. The Borg have no names, they are one body both singular and plural. Communism tried to mold individuals into a group, into one mind. Stalin’s exact term for communal farming, collectivization, is even used to describe the Borg. In Lord of the Rings, though the movies were made recently, the plot line was developed during the Cold War; Saruman is never fully described or shown. His orc and uraki army is one massive unit, though divided into groups, they are not individually identified.
The growing dependency on technology and the arms race is another theme. In Star Wars IV the Empire is attempting to build a new weapon, one the rebellion does not have. The USSR and the US were engaged in a arms race, each trying to out do the other and be the most powerful. With this Death Star, as the Empire’s deadly battle station is called, the Empire will be able to destroy entire planets just as nuclear weapons threatened to incinerate cities and states. The storm troopers are armed with new technology, flying motorcycles in Episode VI, fighter planes and much more. Darth Vader himself is the perfect merger of human and technology. The Borg are exactly like Darth Vader, both organic and machine. Technology was becoming more and more important as the U.S continued to fight, in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, machine guns and technology helped immensely.
The Communist obsession with technology for a tactical edge can be seen as the villains of these movies are almost indistinguishable from the machines. Science and technology were vital to the American public as a space race was sparked by Sputnik. Americans had been first to land a man on the moon, and they tried to maintain this advantage. Meanwhile, Star Wars harkens back to the days war was glorious by maintaining sword battles, but these swords or light sabers may be used like swords but are really more technologically advanced. Sauron and Saraman’s forces in the Lord of the Rings are seen with massive machines and iron buildings, ripping into the natural landscape. Their build up of modernized building and techniques appears sinister to the innocence of Frodo and his companions. Technology after WWII was both important and sinister. With the minor exceptions in Lord of the Rings, technology is used to prevent further builds ups in more powerful technology, just as U.S foreign policy had attempted to do.
These movies also had a sense of empowerment, as ordinary citizens were called upon to save the world they know. Though Captain Picard and his crew are on the flagship of the Federation, they are not prepared for their role of saving the world from and unknown threat that suddenly appears. In The Lord of the Rings, Frodo, a hobbit and therefore resembling the stature of a human child, must led a dire quest through the most dangerous lands in Middle Earth. Luke Skywalker is a boy who somehow manages to buy the wrong robot, and therefore gets mixed up in a series of galactic battles and finds out his destiny, and true heritage. During this era, American wanted to feel like they could defeat these ambiguous foes, forever hovering just on the brink of an all out war. This situation of helplessness, just waiting for the first nuclear bomb to be sent, made people want a situation they could control, and be the hero. Though the Lord of the Rings was written in Great Britain, it can be extended to the US through the shared ramifications of the Cold War and the effect it had on American people as well as the generalizations within the storyline. As Aragorn calls to mankind to unite against their neighbor, who literally is separated by an iron curtain, he urges the “Men of the West” to unite. Tolkein was appealing to more then just British citizens.
The Cold War was not just foreign policy, but a state a mind. Fears hovered over the American populace, of Soviet superiority, of a nuclear war, and the end to life as it was known. The popular movies reflected these themes, constantly showing the West or groups Westerners could identify with as defeating their enemies, who had symbols of communism or Soviets. The Cold War introduced a period of movies that showed the West advancing, and defeating the Soviets even when they had less of an advantage, it created a series of movies that attempted to both empower and thrill the American public and apply to the growing mind-set attached to the war.
