Uploaded December 2016 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This video gives a brief description of reaction, in the entertainment industries, to the Red Scare of the 1950s. Teachers, check out our store on TpT: bit.ly/2fSXb3V
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The song is available here: bit.ly/PandemicOriginal
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Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for fair use for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational, or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
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In this video:
Organizations like the House Un-American Activities Committee and the Loyalty Review Boards were not the only reasons that fear of communism spread throughout the nation in the Post WWII era. So, what other factors helped to spread the fear among the American public?
Nearly all of the popular forms of media (television, radio, movies, and print) featured anti-communist propaganda in some way. Most of this content was geared towards younger audiences in an effort to raise a generation that would both despise communism and be terrified by it.
Many early television programs of the 1950s had an anti-communist theme as a regular part of their programming. Shows such as The Man Called X and I Led Three Lives featured characters who were spying communists attempting to undermine the government, or the American way of life. Radio programs like I was Communist for the FBI featured similar themes.
The movie industry was not to be outdone. Throughout the 1950s, there were many films made with anti-communist messages. The most well-known include; I Married a Communist and The Red Menace. Science fiction films were a popular outlet for this fear as well. Many science fiction films featured plots involving “un-American” and inhuman aliens attempting to infiltrate American society and change the way of life.
Comic books were a popular pastime for America's youth in the 1950s and ‘60s. Therefore, the comics were also filled with stories about spies and Communist villains. Publications such as paperback novels also commonly presented Communists in the role of villain.
The Cold War anti-communist hysteria even drifted into professional sports. The Major League Baseball team known as the Cincinnati Reds temporarily changed their mascot to the “Redlegs” in an effort to avoid a connection with communism (the term “Reds” was often used as a synonym for communists).
This video gives a brief description of reaction, in the entertainment industries, to the Red Scare of the 1950s. Teachers, check out our store on TpT: bit.ly/2fSXb3V
***
Music Provided by Piano Horror: youtube.com/user/Killtastrophe001
The song is available here: bit.ly/PandemicOriginal
***
Like our Facebook page: facebook.com/ReadingThroughHistory
Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/bigmarshdawg77
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/bigmarshdawg77
Check out our TpT store: teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Reading-Through-History
Check out our website: readingthroughhistory.com
Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for fair use for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational, or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
****
In this video:
Organizations like the House Un-American Activities Committee and the Loyalty Review Boards were not the only reasons that fear of communism spread throughout the nation in the Post WWII era. So, what other factors helped to spread the fear among the American public?
Nearly all of the popular forms of media (television, radio, movies, and print) featured anti-communist propaganda in some way. Most of this content was geared towards younger audiences in an effort to raise a generation that would both despise communism and be terrified by it.
Many early television programs of the 1950s had an anti-communist theme as a regular part of their programming. Shows such as The Man Called X and I Led Three Lives featured characters who were spying communists attempting to undermine the government, or the American way of life. Radio programs like I was Communist for the FBI featured similar themes.
The movie industry was not to be outdone. Throughout the 1950s, there were many films made with anti-communist messages. The most well-known include; I Married a Communist and The Red Menace. Science fiction films were a popular outlet for this fear as well. Many science fiction films featured plots involving “un-American” and inhuman aliens attempting to infiltrate American society and change the way of life.
Comic books were a popular pastime for America's youth in the 1950s and ‘60s. Therefore, the comics were also filled with stories about spies and Communist villains. Publications such as paperback novels also commonly presented Communists in the role of villain.
The Cold War anti-communist hysteria even drifted into professional sports. The Major League Baseball team known as the Cincinnati Reds temporarily changed their mascot to the “Redlegs” in an effort to avoid a connection with communism (the term “Reds” was often used as a synonym for communists).
