Before we talk about pop culture in the Cold War, I would like you to have a conversation with the people around you on how pop culture impacts our country today. Which audience do you think it reaches the most? How does it change the overall attitude of our country? What makes it popular.
Remember that the definition of pop culture from Dictionary.com is "cultural activities or commercial products reflecting, suited to, or aimed at the tastes of the general masses of people."
How Did American Pop Culture Connect to the Cold War?
Some parts of pop culture throughout the cold war were being used as a way to express how they really felt about certain issues through a different medium. An example of this is "The Crucible" written by Arthur Miller in 1953. In this book, Miller was directly addressing McCarthyism without actually talking about the specific issue at hand.
Song writers were also using their lyrics to voice their opinions on the Cold War. An example of this is the song below, "It's a Mistake" by Men at Work written in 1983. In this song and music video people have argued that they were trying to portray their opinions that the world superpowers should stop the Cold War and threat of nuclear war.
T.V's Influence on the Cold War
TV connected people in a way they had never been before. They could see their leaders and politicians in action and a new idea of a "normal" life was projected on TV screens