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Watch the short clip attached, think about and reference this week's content, and answer the following questions:

1. Was America's concern over communism justified, irrational, or somehow both?

2. To what extent did fear, paranoia, and propaganda affect American culture during the Cold War? What was the connection between sci-fi aliens and communism?

3. Was containment an effective policy to thwart communist expansion? (Consider the Truman Plan and Marshall Doctrine. Refer to this week's Pacer & Resources).

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Watch the Skies!: Sci-Fi, the 1950s and Us (1 of 6)

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1. America's concern over communism was justified because it was something that could be found in almost all parts of the word, and it was continuously spreading and growing. Although it was large in place like the Soviet Union and China, it could also be found in Cuba which was much closer to mainland America and invoked even more fear into the citizenry. If American was not concerned with communism, it is possible that they would have let their guard down and been susceptible to communism themselves which would have a negative impact on the world economy.

2. Fear, paranoia, and propaganda affected American culture during the Cold War in many ways from movies to politics to the space race. During the Cold War, many movies and films were being produced against communism and some of them even included an idea of what life may be like under communism which was never portrayed in a positive way. Politics was drastically affected by the Cold War, and the biggest incident of this is McCarthyism and the Second Red Scare. Joseph McCarthy was able to attack "communists" in America even though that he had little to no proof of them ever doing anything illegal. The last thing is the space race which took place between the Soviet Union and America since America was trying to keep up with the USSR's success. The connection between sci-fi aliens and communism has to do with power and a "free world" since communism is not always what people think it to be nor is the power distributed as they thought it would be.

3. I think that containment was an effective policy to thwart communist expansion even though it may not have been the most effective means possible. The Truman Plan and Marshall Doctrine used money and military power in order to keep communism in the Soviet Union and China although they were not completely effective at doing this. One piece of containment that was not positive was war including the Korean and Vietnam wars since these both led to many deaths. These wars took place in order to contain the spread of communism; however, this came at the cost of many people's lives. This makes me wonder if there was another course of actions that could have been taken in order to prevent the outbreak of war.

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1. America's concern over communism was both justifiable and irrational because on one hand it was a battle against what America stood for with capitalism and choice and was a complete opposite to these ideals, while on the other hand it was America fighting against other countries' political standing because it was against America's political standing. While I can understand that America feared the spread of communism in the world and wanted to contain it, it raises the question as to should have America fought with opposing countries over this debate? Was it reasonable for America to? Was it America's job to fight the spread of communism in separate countries? Though I do see another perspective where America was trying to savor the ideals of capitalism in the world and the spreading of communism was a threat to where it felt like a mission needed to end the spread.

2. Americans was severely impacted by paranoia and propaganda during the Cold War by America. The films that were being produced, the newspapers, the programs such as "Duck and Cover" are all examples of the propaganda and paranoia that America was being fed throughout the Cold War which messed with citizens. The films were made to show the over life of atomic bombs in a time where Americans lived in fear of bombs dropping on them or America dropping bombs on the Soviet Union. The programs further implied that this was a problem and you needed to be alert in every waking moment, again intensifying fear and paranoia in the American people. Newspapers only fueled how Americans seen the war and the continuous conversations about bombings, again fueling the anxiety and propaganda about the war. The connection between the sci-fi aliens and communism stems from the idea that communists were strangers and aliens to all things American and were on a mission to destroy America and bring evil to man kind. These films were it portrays this message can be seen as propaganda because it influences the minds of Americans, especially during the Cold War.

3. These plans made in support for the fight against communism were definitely made in the best efforts to contain communism and preserve democracy in areas such as Europe, but to say that they were 100% effective would be hard. These plans, such as the Truman Plan, supported the war efforts by giving a guarantee of aid from the American government in supplies and military which benefited in the containment. Then the Marshall Doctrine seemed to be made to preserve and support democratic countries in Europe to maintain a democratic presence in Europe. These two plans definitely supported the containment of communism but to be fully effective in these efforts were not promised. They definitely supported the argument that this war wasn't going to be poorly defended. But, the outcomes by the various of wars are proof that these were not 100% effective in containing because it led to wars upon wars, such as Vietnam. Proof that in best efforts, it was not effective.

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1.)American did not want communism to spread, and the fear of that along with hatred of it was strong. During this time americans did not know for sure what was going to happen. Communism continued to spread and in a way get closer to them. Many people are driven my fear, and react certain ways because of that fear.

2.)I think america during this time was just very terrified. People were afraid and would react because of that fear. People would practice drills incase bombing were going to happen, and movies coming out were playing off those fears by using huge monsters, and talking/using words to play off of fear. Rumors were spread often, and many people were terrified of dying. The power they gave monsters in movies such as aliens would connect to the power of communism because communism is all about the control, fear, and how groups of people react.

3.)The policy was not as effective as people needed because it failed to stop communism all together immediately. Eventually the policy was effective because it got rid of the communistic "empire." The desire of communism was very strong, and it sometimes overpowered the desire of getting rid of communism because of how established their beliefs were.

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1. America's concern over communism was justified because it was growing and spreading around the world. Communism went against what America believed in, which was capitalism. They feared that the spread of communism would threaten capitalism. If they had not been concerned with communism, it would have been easier for it to spread to America. In order to maintain capitalism, they needed to contain communism.

2. Fear, paranoia, and propaganda affected American culture greatly during the cold war. Many films were being produced during this time. One main one was "Duck and Cover" which taught children what they should do in the event of an atomic bomb explosion. This gave Americans fear about bombs that could be dropped at any moment. It gave people the idea that they should be alert at all times, which intensified the paranoia in people. The connection between sci-fi aliens and communism was that communists were "aliens" to what America stood for. This means that they did not understand it, so they would destroy it.

3. Containment was not completely effective, but it did somewhat help thwart communist expansion. The Truman Plan gave supplies and weapons to the military from the American government. The Marshall Doctrine allowed countries to maintain a democratic presence in Europe. Both of these supported the containment of communism, but were not completely effective. It still led to multiple wars.

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1. America's concern over communism was justified. America literally had ideals and beliefs over communism, but was scarce over the populace growth it could have growth to. Literally by the months it was growing worldwide. It was more practiced in the Soviet Union and China, which might have been the root of the "concern." Because since its more populated, that scare could grow.

2. I mean the fear, paranoia, and propaganda affect was quite normal in a way. The constant threats of the bombing and practices of a "just in case" scenario is quite terrifying. Like in any moment you could be exploded and yet, you're practicing a drill for it. Even my great-grandpa was concerned when these drills started to happen. The connection with sci-fi and communism was that the "aliens" were communists from an American stand point. Since America again divided themselves from a different standpoint they didn't want apart of it, since, they didn't understand it. So they initially wanted to remove it permanently.

3. The containment wasn't really effective, in a way. Containment did help in a way, but wasn't as properance as many wanted it to be. But it did help thwart communist expansion. The Truman Plan helped advance military from the American Government. The Marshall Doctrine allowed other countries to keep a Democratic presence in Europe, all of this was to keep communism in a stance away from American. This didn't really plan out well as it lead again, to multiple wars.

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1.) America's concern over communism was not justifiable. Sure, it wasn't what America stood for, but it lead to unnecessary conflicts between countries that just had different opinions on how the world should work. Communism isn't even bad, in fact it seems like an okay way to live to me. But America felt that communism was the devil itself and wanted nothing to do with it, and I think that was the opinion of ignorant Americans that can't stand to be proven wrong. So, again, it was irrational.

2.) Americans lived in fear during the cold war, always wanting to be prepared. They practiced duck and cover and built bomb shelters, and while being prepared is smart, they were so caught up in their fear that they didn't believe it might happen, they believed it WOULD happen. To channel that fear, they made Sci-Fi films about aliens who represented communism and the atomic bombs. They felt in these films they had power, because they could physically shoot and kill these monsters while in reality, they couldn't do that to communism and bombs.

3.) Containment was not an effective way to thwart communism, it still spread throughout the world, and America.

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1. I would certainly consider America's concern over communism justified.  The rate at which the USSR was forcing communism on other countries made America's leaders fear that there would be an infectious spread that would possibly reach America.  If the United States had not made the Truman Doctrine then the USSR may have gained too much power for any other nation to overcome.  This leads me to believe that America was justified in their response to communism concerning the way it was spreading in Europe.
2.  American culture was greatly impacted by communist propaganda and it put this fear into American's citizens.  People feared that the nation would be overcome by communism and the media didn't help by filling the headlines with news regarding communism.  From simple propaganda in newspapers, to the medias concern with the Berlin Wall.  People began accusing each other of being communists and overall the nation was full of people pointing fingers despite no large group of communists.  Hollywood connected Sci-fi and communism in a big way by portraying communism as aliens using mind control.  This connection was drawn by America as propaganda to scare their citizens away from it.
3.Containment was an effective policy in my opinion. In a way it did its best to stop the spread of communism without pushing back against it and possibly getting into an entanglement with the USSR. The fear of mutual assured destruction kept America from pushing the USSR back and so there were wars fought in other countries. Wars in Asia come to mind such as the Korean War and the Vietnam War which was fought as America tried to prevent the spread of communism. As Japan was protected by America it meant that some countries were able to further develop themselves instead of worrying about their own defense. This decision led to a lot of violence especially within other countries, but it did prevent nuclear warfare.

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1. I believe America's view and fear of Communism was justified while also being irrational. It was justified in the sense that they had never experienced it before, they didn't know what it had in store besides what they were seeing and hearing about it spreading in other countries from across the world. Being afraid of something new is justified but that's also when it can get irrational. The US has always been one of the great powers of the world. It has always been capitalist centered. I don't see why so many thought that it could possibly fall under Communism if quite literally everyone in the US disagreed with Communism. Outside of the fear for nuclear war, the extent of the concern for Communism was a little irrational. When has the US ever fallen under another country's power or another ideology? Obviously anything is possible which is why that initial worry was justified but it went a little far considering Americas power and stance in the situation.
2. The fear, propaganda, and paranoia clearly went really far into American culture during the Cold War. The whole duck and cover drills were a little much. Putting the idea inside of children's heads that at any moment they could be vaporized.. but as long as they go into the fetal position, they would be okay! All that did was insight more fear and false hope for something that would be inevitable. Some even spent tons of time and money to build bunkers, just in case. People were able to profit off of this war by making films, etc. Even the Sci-Fi films of this time that had little to no connection to nuclear war installed propaganda. At the end of these movies the military would come in and save the day against these monsters, similar to how they would come in and save the day against the monsters of war. It was a close relation to the fear of communism in the US, aliens and monsters coming into OUR land to change the way that WE do things which in the end was stopped by the military.. sounds familiar right? Sounds just like any other war propaganda movie but just replacing the foreigners with aliens. It gave false hope, and if anything this type of fear and propaganda inside of American culture didn't go anywhere after the Cold War because we still see it all today. Not to mention, this war made unnecessary competition between the US and the Soviet Union worse than it already was, for literally no good reason. Wasting millions of dollars for space exploration just to prove a point? Was that even necessary?
3. I personally don't think containment was the way to go in order to stop Communism. It's not like it was Nazi Germany and mass genocide was occurring everywhere in these other countries. Of course it was corrupt and not a good thing but that was something those countries needed to figure out themselves to revolt and fix it themselves. Why should we ever go to war or be involved with another country for no good reason besides fear of Communism spreading towards us? That's literally the entire reason for the Korean war and Vietnam war along with the other smaller proxy wars of the time. Hundreds of our men ( and innocent civilians ) dying for something that has absolutely nothing to do with us.. wasn't that supposed to be the lesson learned from World War 1? I just never see the point in getting involved with others in conflict or money issues unless it is 100% detrimental to the US and the world as a whole. Yeah the Communism spreading was not good but it had nothing to do with the US and more than likely wasn't going to exist in the US, so what was the point of the containment?

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1. I believe that America's concern over communism was justified. Communism was growing. Country after country was learning of the practices of communism and many started implementing them. I feel that the fear of communism resulted in people having irrational actions, but the concern of communism itself was justified.
2. During the Cold War fear and paranoia were the driving factors behind many actions. For example, the drills that were practiced in case of a bomb. Children would watch the "Duck and Cover" video. To them these drills were set only as a precaution, but for adults many felt it was just a matter of time before the drill would be reality. Propaganda has had the power to manipulate people's emotions for generations, and it was the same then. The man in the video states, "it [sci-fi] really stretches your beliefs." This line highlights the power of sci-fi. The aliens presented in sci-fi resemble foreign ideas or ways of life which are connected to communism.
3. I feel there were both pros and cons to containment. Trying to figure out if the pros out way or were worth what happened as a result can be hard. I feel there was some good, but there could have been a more effective policy.

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1. It seems that America's concern over communism was justified and irrational. I feel that it was irrational on one part because of the battle that was going on for what America thought with capitalism. It can seem that it was also justified because it had continued to grow and expand more. America was fighting against other countries for political standing because it was against other countries for political standing because it was against America's. It is easy to see why America had feared the communism spreading around. This is because they had feared that the Soviet Union wanted to spread communism all over the world and America wanted to contain it. If American did not have a big concern with communism but it could have then had a bad effect on not only America but the world itself but the world as well.

2. With the extent of fear, paranoia, and propaganda had affected the America culture during the Cold War. During the Cold War there was a lot going on like movies being made. But the movies were actually being produced against communism. The movies and the films scared people because of what was going on within the movies such a monsters. One of the main movies that was used was "Duck and Cover". Which would allow children what they should be preparing for if there was an atomic bomb to happen.  There was always constant fear because of the thought of a bomb going off at any time of day or night. The connection between the sci-fi aliens and communism was that "aliens" were communists by an American stand point. America however divided themselves from it because they did not understand it.

3. The containment honestly was not very effective. It does seem that it did kind of help with the thwart communist expansion. The Marshall Doctrine had allowed the countries to maintain a democratic present within Europe. While with the Truman Plan gave weapons along with some supplies to the military from the government. Each supported containment of communism however, not everything was fully effective.

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1.) Americas concern over communism was justifiable. America had beliefs and ideals about communsim. However they were scant about the growth of populance that could occour. This wasn't practiced as much in the United states like in China. America was fighting against other countries for political standing because they were against other countries in a fight for political standing.
2.) Paranoia, fear, and propaganda had a huge affect on Americans during the cold war. Movie productions, newspapers, and big time people were a huge reason for paranoia and propaganda. Mostly films, and news outlets were the reason for this. News outlets would shove atomic bombs into peoples brains. They always made people think about them. The papers would always make it known that people should always be alert. For example if they see a bright flashing light, news outlets, and commercial said that people need to duck and cover. Duck and Cover was a huge part of the paranoia and propaganda. People figured that this is exactly what they would need to do. Schools even had drills almost everyday practicing Duck and Cover. Newspapers were filled with information about the war. The connection between the sci-fi aliens and communism stems was that communist were strangers to the American way. This is why they were called aliens. It was thought that they were trying to destroy America. The sci-fi films showed exactly this. The films would install fear into other Americans.
3.)Containment was not the answer for trying to stop communism. In a way it was slightly helpful with the Thwart Communist expansion. The Marshall Doctrine alowed other countries to maintain their democratic present with Europe. This was an effective policy. However there are definitly better policy's that could have been used instead.

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1) While America's overall goal is to fight to preserve democracy, that fight may not be the most justifiable. While we think democracy is right, it may not be how other countries prefer to be run, and we have no right to choose that for them.
2) fear and parinoya plaid a huge part in the cold war. Many movies, commercials, and school lessons involved the slight amount of preparation that they could make. They had so much fear that they just thought it would happen, and they lost the hope that it wouldn't.
3) obviously communism isn't in America by title, but it is impossible to say that it is defeated, because you are always going to have people to believe in that no matter the country. There is also the possibility that someone could try to spread it again, almost like the Russia and Ukraine situation, where it could start to spread, and with nuclear weapons, there may not be a ton that could be done.

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1. America feared communism and gained a great concern over it. Their concern on communism was justified because of the way it was growing and spreading. Many believed it was going to threaten capitalism because of how the Soviet Union would overthrow both democratic and capitalist institutions.
2. In my opinion I'd say fear, paranoia, and propaganda affected American culture highly during the cold war. During the time this was happening films were being made against communism. These films/movies left many scared for what was being shared  to them because it all happened out of nowhere. A film "Duck and Cover" was shown to prepare those children & people to know what to do if an atomic bomb were to hit nearby. Atomic bombings feared many because you won't know when it's going to happen unless you hear a warning, which is why you need to learn how to take the right precaution as the film shared. The connection between the sci-fi aliens and communism was that they were strangers to them which was why Americans believed they were going to destroy America. The films that were made were to share the message on how to take cover and share the propaganda that was occurring during the time of the Cold War.
3. The containment was not effective because it failed to stop communism. Although it did in a way help the Thwart communist expansion. There are many pro's and con's to whether it is effect or not but in my opinion I don't think it was the right call.

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1. American's concern over communism was justified and irrational. Not just because of the fear and conflict but because it continued to become larger and continued to grow. The United States has made history in plenty of ways, so they are know to be at a greater standard then others. So others countries started practicing communism and it resulted in different actions.
2. During the Cold War American's where filled with fear, they didn't know exactly what could happen at that time, and if they where safe where they were. Fear took over Americans, causing them to learn certain drills, make sure they are ready for nuclear bombs, etc. People where taught a drill that 'helped' them survive if they where close to any time of nuclear bomb. This affected everyone at the time. Fear controlled their lives at one point. Sci-fi aliens and communism are connected in a way because it was all based of fear, being controlled, and how it caused people to act or be.
3. Containment wasn't always an effective policy. This was because it failed to stop communism. People wanted communism and this began to be very effective because eventually they got rid of the Communistic empire.

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1. It’s both for a point perspective and the fear of communism was only somewhat justified. Communism isn’t a disease but it did pose a threat to capitalism which caused the fear of Communism. Many Americans believed it was a threat to Capitalism and they weren’t exactly wrong. If a Communist party joined the government then there could be major problems and one of these problems include our economy crashing.

2. Propaganda and such things similar caused even more fear among the American people and it really caused a lot of Americans to become nervous. The connection between sci-fi and communism is that the communist were called aliens, this likely connects to what we call modern-day illegal immigrants.

3. The containment was not effective but it did somewhat slow the spread of communist fear which helped the slightest bit. However, it did not stop the fear of communism, instead it seemed to fuel the fires in some places.

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1) Americas views/ thoughts on communism was justified in my opinion. America had never experience this before so at the time they didn't really know how to react. At first naturally mostly everyone was afraid for what was going to happen/ what did happen.

2) Fear, Paranoia and propaganda affected the American culture in a dramatic way. There were constant threats for bombing. I think what also scared the American people was how much it became a reality so quickly. They were then at the point where they were doing "duck and cover" drills to ensure you know how to protect yourself in case this ever happens. The reason why sci-fi and communism is connected is because the "aliens" could be considered communist from the American perspective.

3) Containment was not completely effective. Although what containment did do was that it helped the thwart communist expansion. The Marshall Doctrine did let countries have a democratic presence in Europe.

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1. Americas concern about communism was justified. It was continuously growing and spreading around the world and it went against what American believed in, so they feared that the new growth in communism would threaten the capitalism.
2. Paranoia fear and propaganda had a huge impact on Americans during the cold war. Ads in papers, movies, shows, and the news were very influential during this time. The people were brainwashed by a single ad, and the got so much fear instilled in them they didn't know what to believe. So they believed everything.
3. I feel that containment wasnt effective because it failed to stop communism.