The Cold War and American Movies from the 1980s

Introduction

This topic includes both the sentiment and profiteering of Hollywood during and post-Cold War era. So what, how did the Cold War affect American society? Well, we had, and still have, movies depicting Russians as the go to bad guys for plots and arcs in motion films. This will be a survey of the how and why this was good business for the film industry. Thesis: "How does the stereotyped motif of 1980s Cold War films characterize Soviets and why are these portrayals accepted by an American audience?"

Statement of Problem

Although there are many resources regarding Cold War and post-Cold War politics
and society there seems to be hardly any materials on solely the movie industry’s portrayal of Soviets throughout the years. The connections of nationalism, patriotism, Communism and democracy, propaganda, and exceptionalism need to be investigated in order to fully understand the extent of Russian stereotyping by the movie industry.