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communism. Nevertheless, dissent arose as writers, filmmakers, musicians, and others expressed their anger and anxiety through their art. Much of that fear could be seen in the era’s science fiction movies, where filmmak- ers expressed anxiety about the possibility of nuclear destruction, the threat posed by communism, and the impact of radioactive fallout. These and other issues showed up in sci-fi movies in all sorts of ways: through obsessed mad scientists, invasions by aliens from outer space, and by giant mutant ants, grasshoppers, and other monsters un- leashed by nuclear radiation. In Japan, which had suffered greatly because of the atomic bomb, filmmakers created a series of antinuclear films, including one called Gojira , or Godzilla . When the movie was shown in Japanese theaters, many people silently watched while others cried.

Other movies and books, including Fail-Safe and Dr. Strangelove , highlighted Cold War tensions and anxiet- ies. In addition, the anger and angst of the age also gave voice to new poets and rock ’n’ roll musicians, many of whom are discussed in the chapters that follow. New forms of culture, such as film noir (movies marked by pessimism, distrust, and fatalism ) and others, also sprang from the nuclear age. Such “nontraditional forms of culture created in the atomic age conformed to the disorder of the age,” historian Margot A. Henriksen writes in her book Dr. Strangelove’s America: Society and Culture in the Atomic Age . More Connected D espite the tension and anxiety prevalent in the world, something else was occurring. A more culturally, politi- cally, and economically connected world was emerging. The United States was the only major power that came out of the conflict virtually intact. For the time being, America was the only superpower, and its leaders envi- sioned a postwar world of free trade and open markets. Free markets, the Americans and their allies believed, would forge international connections that would keep the peace, spur democracy, and bring people together on economic and cultural levels. This interconnectedness haltingly began during the war as soldiers and civilians from different cultures came together on each side of the conflict. They explored

FILM OF PROTEST In 1959, French filmmaker

Alain Resnais directed a critically acclaimed movie called Hiroshima Mon Amour (Hiroshima My Love). The film focused on a French actress who travels to Hiroshima to film an antiwar movie. While in the rebuilt city, the actress, played by Emmanuelle Riva, has an affair with a Japanese architect who lost his family in the atomic blast that devastated the city. As the two lovers talk about the effects of the blast, they begin to recall previous romances, including the woman’s relationship with a German soldier during the Nazi occupation of France. The film, which uses archival footage of Hiroshima after the blast, contrasts the couple’s personal pain with the devastation wrought by the bomb. The film was a success and paved the way for others in the French New Wave, a type of dramatic filmmaking that used elements of a documentary.

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CHAPTER 1