Anti-Communist Propaganda in the Cold War

Anti-Communist Propaganda in the Cold War

Propaganda has been used as a tool for influencing and persuading people through the history of civilisation throughout the world. One recent section of history in which propaganda was used extensively was during the Cold War in the United States of America, in which all media outlets were utilised to convince the public of the ‘horrors of communism’. One of the main techniques of anti-communism propaganda was appealing to the emotions of the public, particularly fear and patriotism. This was done through many media outlets, one of the key outlets being movies, and even television shows in the later years of the Cold War. Also, many government-run radio shows were played to endorse and enhance the propaganda given during speeches. Anti-communist pamphlets, books and comics were also produced en masse during the Cold War; these, like the movies and radio shows, dramatised the communists and claimed they were the “personification of evil… [and] denied individual freedom” . This perception was reinforced by what is now referred to as ‘The McCarthy Trials’, which led to an unjustified view of communists and mass hysteria of the American public.

Films were a vital element of anti-communist propaganda, as they had a large influence on the emotions and beliefs of Americans, covering many generations. Under the pressure of the American Government, many anti-communist movies were made, focusing mainly on the tactics of communists, as well as the potential outcomes if communists overthrew the United States. These included such films as The Red Menace, Red Nightmare: The Commies are Coming and I was a Communist for the FBI. These films “capitalised on the stereotypes of Communism… [in which] American Communists were portrayed as dark, unkempt irrational fanatics aggressively intent upon destroying the United States” . Many of the films also showed a ‘typical’ American family being suppressed by the ‘evils of communism’, and their freedom being removed. These movies...