Historians are concerned with what people in the past believed and thought, and how people’s beliefs and thoughts influenced their actions. Cultural historians, more specifically, are interested in how and why people perceived of and constructed their world. They are interested in studying how people of the past understood their world, why they conceived of their world in the way they did, and how this influenced how people interacted with others. Historians refer to this approach of historical analysis and interpretation as l’Histoire des Mentalités. In order to comprehend the mentalité of the people of the past, historians analyze primary sources—artifacts created by the people under historical scrutiny. Primary sources can take many forms, such as diaries, letters, advertisements, laws, debates, furniture, architecture, arts, clothing, and even food.
Assignment
In this paper you will analyze a relatively new primary source, one invented in the previous century, the Hollywood film, and you will analyze that film as a cultural historian writing a histoire des mentalité of Americans during the Cold War. Your histoire des mentalités of Cold War America should address the following questions:
What does the film reveal about howAmericans perceived the Cold War and constructed their place as Americans in that war?
What does the film reveal about whyAmericans conceived of the Cold War as they did?
Choose one of the following films below and write a histoire des mentalités of Americans and the Cold War.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) directed by Don Siegel
The Thing from Another World (1951) directed by Christian Nyby
The Manchurian Candidate (1962) directed by John Frankenheimer
The Bedford Incident (1965) directed by James Harris
Seven Days in May (1964) directed by John Frankenheimer
Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying & Love the Bomb (1964) directed by Stanley Kubrick
Although there are remakes of several of these films, you must watch the original film produced in the years listed above and directed by those named above. Watching and writing your paper on a remake will warrant an F on the paper. Do not watch the remake!
These films are available on Amazon, Netflix, your public library, iTunes, TCM Online, Paramount Plus, The Criterion Collection Online, and otheronline streaming services.
The essay should be three to five double-spaced typed pages in length.
Structure of Paper
You may structure your essay however way you desire, but you may want to use the following structure as a model, especially if you have organizational or structural difficulties with your writing. In your Introduction, summarize the film’s plot and assert your thesis, which answers the questions posited in the Overview above. The body paragraphs should support and develop your thesis by using evidence from the film. This evidence should be specific lines and/or descriptions of scenes from the film along with an explanation of how these lines and scenes support and develop the essay’s thesis. You must describe and explain in your body paragraphs what exactly in the movie lead you to draw your assertions and thesis. In your paper’s Conclusion you may discuss how this film in the context of the Cold War is relevant to the contemporary United States by answering the question: How are we today similar and/or different from the people who would have watched your chosen film during the Cold War?
Grading
The paper will be evaluated according to: (1) how well your arguments are supported and developed with evidence from your chosen film, and (2) how well the paper’s form, i.e. writing style, adheres to the rules of standard written academic English. See this grading rubric for what is expected for an A, B, or C grade, and what constitutes a D or F grade. The paper will be graded according to content and form.
Alternative to Watching a Cold-War Hollywood Movie
Rather than watching one of the movies listed above, you may watch a Hollywood sitcom that aired during the 1950s and/or early 1960s. If you chose this alternative, you must watch at least five episodes of the program. Since most of these episodes are only 30 minutes in length, you need to watch at least five episodes to get an idea of what the shows reveal about the Cold War. While the movies reveal quite a bit regarding politics, the family, and gender during the Cold War, the sitcoms divulge more about the family and gender. If you choose the sitcom option, you must notify me of which sitcom you wish to watch by May 10. You may also contact me for suggestions on possible sitcoms that may interest you.
