9781422282793

Moreover, World War II had turned cities across much of Europe into rubble. Bombs and artillery oblit- erated factories, rail links, and schools. There was no water, no sanitation facilities, no place to live. Lawlessness prevailed. Bands of outlaws with weapons roamed the streets. Women prostituted themselves so they could eat. Thousands starved to death. Millions more, their homes and families destroyed, became refugees. Each looked to start a new, more secure life somewhere else. The future looked even grimmer in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, both of which were devastated by the atomic bombs dropped by the Allies at the end of the war. Yet, amid the destruction, a new world order was slowly taking shape, one that would eventually plunge the planet into a more ideologically driven conflict be- tween the Western democracies and communism: the Cold War. This conflict would manifest itself in many ways, including culturally. From the music people lis- tened to and the books they read, to the values they held as a people, and to how societies and economies were organized—the Cold War was all-encompassing. Culture and the Atomic Age O n August 6, 1945, an American B-29 bomber named the Enola Gay dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, another American atomic bomb was dropped onNagasaki. Within that week, the Atomic Age was born. For more than four decades, the threat of nuclear annihilation and the fear of a growing Cold War would play a revolutionary role in literature, music, the movies, and art. In the immediate aftermath of the nuclear blasts, some people, including many scientists, protested the proliferation of nuclear weapons. However, their pro- tests were often drowned out by others who encour- aged the West to formulate a consensus as it battled Japanese poster for the movie Godzilla Raids Again , 1955. Science fiction, in both books and film, represented people’s anxiety about the Atomic Age.

WHAT IS CULTURE?

Culture is often defined as a way of life for an entire society. It is reflected in a wide range of ways: by how people dress and how they speak, what movies they see, and what food they eat. This book looks at three essential elements of culture— values, norms, and artifacts—and how each pertained to the postwar world. Values are the ideas that people believe are important. Norms are the standard patterns of behavior considered normal in a society. Artifacts are the materials, such as books, movies, and music, among others, born out of shared values and norms. Each of these elements played an essential role in the anxieties, frustrations, successes, joys, and social beliefs that defined the Cold War.

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CULTURE AND CUSTOMS IN A CONNECTED WORLD