Cold War Paranoia in Captain America and Batman

Cold War Paranoia in Captain America and Batman Introduction The prevalent mood across the United States after the Second World War was rife with optimism and unparalleled success. The middle class â€Å"rapidly expanded, unemployment was low, and the United States (the only country with a nuclear bomb) became the most powerful country on earth† (Burr par.14).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Cold War Paranoia in Captain America and Batman specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Unfortunately, this mood lasted for a short period of about four years before the Soviet Union started stockpiling nuclear bombs in 1949. Given that the United States was the only state with nuclear weapons by then, the Soviet’s decision to test its first nuclear weapons openly in 1949 caused tensions in the US. The hitherto mood of success turned somber and Americans became paranoid due to the fears of a nuclear bomb being dropped from the Soviet Union. Americans started preparing f or nuclear bomb attacks. The political environment was awash with speculations and conspiracy theories, with some politicians claiming that Soviet spies had infiltrated the American government. The film industry thus sought to highlight the changing mood across the United States with film directors coming up with movies to underscore the situation. Some of the outstanding superhero movies that underscored the Cold War paranoia include Captain America directed by Albert Pyun in 1990 and Batman, which was released in 1966. This paper explores these two superhero movies and their correlation with Cold War paranoia in terms of characters and the plotlines. Batman (1966) This movie is commonly referred to as Batman: The Movie and it is an adaptation of the Batman Television Series, with emphasis on the character, Batman, who featured extensively in DC Comics (Garcia 55). The movie’s plotline elicits fear, apprehension, and confusion, which characterized the Cold War paranoia. When Batman tries to rescue Schmidlapp from a yacht, the vessel disappears and he comes out with his leg in a shark’s mouth (Batman). This form of unexpected events underscores the uncertainty that surrounded the tension between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Americans did not know what to expect if either of the warring sides launched a nuclear attack against the other.Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Batman and Robin later realize that the call claiming that Schmidlapp had been kidnapped was a set up by the United Underworld, which sought to eliminate Batman. This aspect underscores the many conspiracy theories that surrounded the Cold War. As the movie progresses, the plot exposes the view that everyone loses in a war. Batman and Robin fail in their attempt to protect the kidnapping of the United World Organization’s Council, wh ile the United Underground loses its missiles and submarines in the war. Similarly, both the United States and the Soviet Union lost substantially during the Cold War. Innocent civilians died as collateral damage on top of property destruction coupled with the death of thousands of soldiers involved in the war. On the choice of characters, Batman represents the kind of a superhero that Americans wanted to be assured of safety from the threats of nuclear bombs from the Soviet Union. Americans knew that the government could not protect them sufficiently if a nuclear war broke out because in a nuclear war, there are no winners as everyone loses (Burr par. 16). In addition, the use of Catwoman, under the disguise of Miss Kitka – a Soviet journalist, highlights the allegations of communist sympathizers within the United States at the time. Captain America This movie is an adaptation of the Marvel’s Comics Superhero. In the movie, the need to come up with a superhero to prot ect Americans from the threat of a nuclear attack from the Soviet Union stands out. Even though the plot oscillates between Italy and the United States, fear and unpredictability come out clearly. The Italian government eliminates Tadzio’s family before kidnapping him for experimental purposes as it seeks to make a fascist superhero (Captain America). However, one of the project masterminds, Dr. Vaselli, cannot stand the thought of using an innocent boy as a guinea pig and so she escapes to the United States where she kick starts a similar project. She successfully transforms one of the soldiers, Steve Rogers, into a superhero. Even though the director of this movie does not mention the Soviet Union directly, the themes used point to the Cold War paranoia at the time. The idea of coming up with a superhero being was born out of the uncertainty surrounding the possibility of using nuclear bombs during the Cold War (Snellings par. 17).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Cold War Paranoia in Captain America and Batman specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The cloning of a superhero in Italy and the replication of the same in the United States can be taken to imply the making of a nuclear bomb in the US and the subsequent replication of the same by the Soviet Union. On the use of characters, the script follows that of Batman with superhero characters taking the center stage. Conclusion Fear, apprehension, and uncertainty characterized the Cold War era. Americans lived in ‘nuclear war preparedness’ as the Soviet Union was allegedly planning to drop a nuclear bomb anywhere in the US. Moviemakers sought to make films highlighting this feeling of uncertainty. In addition, Americans wanted a form of protection, which could only come from a superhero as opposed to relying on government forces. Therefore, filmmakers used superheroes in their movies to meet the society’s expectations at the time, as shown in the movies, Batman and Captain America. Batman. Dir. Leslie Martinson. Century City, LA: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, 1966. Film. Burr, William. Nobody Wins a Nuclear War But Success is Possible Mixed Message  of 1950s Air Force Film on a U.S.-Soviet Conflict, 2011. Web. Captain America. Dir. Albert Pyun. New York: Marvel Entertainment, LLC, 1990. Film. Garcia, Bob. Batman: Making the Original Movie. Cinefantastique 24.25 (1994): 55-58. Print.Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Snellings, April. Captain America Trades World War II Action for Cold War Paranoia in  The Winter Soldier, 2014. Web.

The California Gold Rush

The California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush was a remarkable episode in history sparked by the discovery of gold at Sutters Mill, a remote outpost in California, in January 1848. As rumors of the discovery spread, thousands of people flocked to the region hoping to strike it rich. In early December 1848, President James K. Polk confirmed that quantities of gold had been discovered. And when a cavalry officer sent to investigate the gold finds published his report in a number of newspapers that month, gold fever spread. The year 1849 became legendary. Many thousands of hopeful prospectors, known as Forty-Niners, raced to get to California. Within a few years, California transformed from a sparsely populated remote territory to a booming state. San Francisco, a small town with a population of about 800 in 1848, gained another 20,000 residents the following year and was well on its way to becoming a major city. The frenzy to get to California was accelerated by the belief that gold nuggets being found in stream beds would not be found for long. By the time of the Civil War, the gold rush was essentially over. But the discovery of gold had a lasting impact not only in California but on the development of the entire United States. Discovery of Gold The first discovery of California gold took place on January 24, 1848, when a carpenter from New Jersey, James Marshall, spotted a gold nugget in a mill race he was building at the sawmill of John Sutter. The discovery was purposely kept quiet, but word leaked out. And by the summer of 1848 adventurers hoping to find gold was already starting to flood into the area around Sutters Mill, in north-central California. Up until the Gold Rush, the population of California was about 13,000, half of whom were descendants of the original Spanish settlers. The United States had acquired California at the end of the Mexican War, and it might have remained sparsely populated for decades if the lure of gold had not become a sudden attraction. Flood of Prospectors Most of the people seeking gold in 1848 were settlers who had already been in California. But confirmation of the rumors in the East changed everything in a profound way. A group of U.S. Army officers was dispatched by the federal government to investigate the rumors in the summer of 1848. And a report from the expedition, along with gold samples, reached federal authorities in Washington that autumn. In the 19th century, presidents presented their annual report to Congress (the equivalent of the State of the Union Address) in December, in the form of a written report. President James K. Polk presented his final annual message on December 5, 1848. He specifically mentioned the discoveries of gold in California. Newspapers, which typically printed the presidents annual message, published Polks message. And the paragraphs about gold in California got a lot of attention. The same month the report by Col. R.H. Mason of the U.S. Army began to appear in papers in the East. Mason described a trip he had made through the gold region with another officer, Lieutenant William T. Sherman (who would go on to achieve great fame as a Union general in the Civil War). Mason and Sherman traveled into north-central California, met with John Sutter, and established that the rumors of gold were entirely true. Mason described how gold was being found in stream beds, and he also ascertained financial details about the finds. According to published versions of Masons report, one man had made $16,000 in five weeks and showed Mason 14 pounds of gold he had found in the previous week. Newspaper readers in the East were stunned, and thousands of people made up their minds to get to California. Travel was very difficult at the time, as argonauts, as the gold seekers were called, could either spend months crossing the country by wagon, or months sailing from East Coast ports, around the tip of South America and then onward to California. Some cut time from the trip by sailing to Central America, crossing overland, and then taking another ship to California. The gold rush helped create the golden age of clipper ships in the early 1850s. The clippers essentially raced to California, with some of them making the trip from New York City to California in less than 100 days, an astounding feat at the time. Impact of the California Gold Rush The mass migrations of thousands to California had an immediate impact. While settlers had been moving westward along the Oregon Trail for nearly a decade, California suddenly became the preferred destination. When the administration of James K. Polk first acquired California a few years earlier, it was generally believed to be a territory with potential, as its harbors could make a trade ​with Asia possible. The discovery of gold, and the great influx of settlers, greatly accelerated the development of the West Coast.