Cold War Cultural Aspects: American Popular Culture

Figure 1.-- American popular culture was a wild car in the Cold War. It adversely affected America's ability to procecute the Vietnam War and to confront the Soviets in Europe. But it also managed to penetrate the Irion Curtain and deeply affected social and politucal attitudes throughout the Soviet Empire. Here we see teenagers in Bekgrade. The press caption read, "Yugoslav'Easy Riders': Belgrade Youths are ttracted by American movies, music and life-style. These two, for example,are among thoise that liked the 'Easy Rider' slouch. Movies starring John Wayne and Marlon Brando have a string influence." This varied from country to country. Larry Hagman became a cultural icon in Romania.

The general association with American popular culture and the Cold War is the idea that there was an unjutifiable paranoia and a corrosive state of seige mentaility that supressed cultural freedom. This can be seen with a basic Google search. Actually, American popular culture proved to be a major factor in the Cold War, but not in America. American popular culture penetrated the Iron Curtain to an amazing degree. And this was a totally unanticipared development. It was not something that the U.S. Government conciously promoted. In fact, many older Americans were offened and objected tonthe developing popular culture. American post-War culture, especially the artistic element (Hollywood, artists, musicians, and authors) promoted the idea of freedom. They criticized many of the important societal institutions in Ametrica. This melieu added support to the Civil Rights movement, feminism, and eventually Gay Rights as well as less positive features such as the drug culture. And mixed in with the more serious messages was a heavy dose of personal freedom and teen angst bordering on anarchy. Good examples were films like 'The Wild Ones' (1953), 'Easy Rider' (1968), and 'Hair' (1979). The much dicussed Hippie movement and the Anti-War movement were other aspects of this cultural ferment. And of course Rock music became the music of the Cold war generation, and not just in America. It was quickly adopted in Europe. Major rock bands appeared in Engand, but were influential througout Europe. The Paris Student Riots were an early manifestation (1968). And American populsr cultute had enormous appeal throughout the Soviet Empire. The KGB and their Eastern European clones could stop a great deal of Western publications and other material from penetrating the Iron Curtain. They totaly failed with rock music. This was most important in Eastern European countries most oriented toward the Werst and the Soviet Baltics, but penetrated to a degree even into the Russian heartland of the Soviet Union. This was somehing that the Soviet authorities were unprepared for and never were able to fully confront. Authorities struggled mightedly. As in the West for example they attempted to prevent boys from weaing their hair long, but as in the Wrst eventually gave up the struggle--as long as the hair wasn't too long. It seems that blue jeans and rock and roll music along with the freedom they conveyed appears in the end to have been far more influential than Soviet relism and high culture.

Common American Perception of the Cold War

The general association with American popular culture and the Cold War is the idea that there was an unjutifiable paranoia and a corrosive state of seige mentaility that supressed cultural freedom. This can be seen with a basic Google search.

American Popular Culture

American post-War culture, especially the artistic element (Hollywood, artists, musicians, and authors) promoted the idea of freedom. They criticized many of the important societal institutions in America. This melieu added support to the Civil Rights movement, feminism, and eventually Gay Rights as well as less positive features such as the drug culture. And mixed in with the more serious messages was a heavy dose of personal freedom and teen angst bordering on anarchy. Good examples were films like 'The Wild Ones' (1953), 'Easy Rider' (1968), and 'Hair' (1979). The much dicussed Hippie movement and the Anti-War movement were other aspects of this cultural ferment. And of course Rock music became the music of the Cold war generation. Elvis Presely playd a major role in launching Rock and Roll. Black music, both gospel and jazz was a major influence on Elvis and Rock and Roll in genetral. At first, however, only white performers wre accepted. Drugs wre a major feature of Rock and Roll. A Canadian reader tells us about Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll. In terms of pop culture, Canada was largely an extension of America.

Impact on the Cold War

Actually, American popular culture proved to be a major factor in the Cold War, but not in America. American popular culture penetrated the Iron Curtain to an amazing degree. And this was a totally unanticipared development. It was not something that the U.S. Government conciously promoted. In fact, many older Americans were offened and objected to the developing popular culture.

America

American popular culture impaired the procecution of the Cold War. It wa a major factor in ending the Vietnam War and even Ameriucan support iof South Vietnam after the U.S.withdrawl. What we find interesting is that if you do an internet search, about the Cold War is all about McCarthyism, the House Un-American Activities Committee, paranoia, anti Communist hysteria, black listing, etc. There is very little about the Soviet Gulag, including the assault on artists, musicians, dancers, writers, etc. There is a total lack of recognition to the extent that America was in danger, meaning free expression, including artistic freedoms. The very people the Soviets thoroughly suppressed were in America the people that were the most supportive of Communism and left-wing thought. (You see he same phenomenon toward Islam today.) Nor does any one mention that the post-War era was one of the most vibrant cultural outbursts in American history.

Western Europe

America popular culture also affected Europe. In fact it was quickly adopted by European youth. Major rock bands appeared in Engand, but were influential througout Europe. The Paris Student Riots were an early manifestation (1968). As in America, popular culture wa an impediment to resisting the Soviet Ub=nion. The ban the bomb movement only dealt with NATO and Western millitary prparedness. And there was a huge Soviet-supported opposition to President Regan and Chancelor Kohl who responded forcibly to Soviet missle upgrades. The general theme of popular culture was that there was a kind of moral equivalency to the Soviet Union and the United States. Entirely lost was the fact that young people in Anerica and Western Europe could express themselves in reltive freedom while the same was not the case behind the Iron Curtain. A good example is John Lennon's beautiful Beattle's ballad, 'Give peace a chance'. The basic assumtion was that American Cold War policies were preveting world peace. Of course peace is always possible. Britain had that choice after the fall of France. And America and the West had that choice after Workd War II. Lennon of course does not seem to have asked himself what happened to people like himself who question government policies behind the Iron Curtain. Very telling is where Lennon decided to live, in the very country he criticized.

Eastern Europe

And American popular cultute had enormous appeal throughout the Soviet Empire. The KGB and their Eastern European clones could stop a great deal of Western publications and other material from penetrating the Iron Curtain. They totaly failed with rock music. This was most important in Eastern European countries most oriented toward the West and the Soviet Baltics, which were not added to the Soviet Union until the 1940s and because of geography and language the Soviets were never able to completely disconnect the three small countries from the West. The disolution of the Soviet Union would begin here.

Soviet Union

Although not as significantly as Eastern Europe, American popular culture also penetrated to a degree even into the Russian heartland of the Soviet Union. This was somehing that the Soviet authorities were unprepared for and never were able to fully confront. Authorities struggled mightedly. As in the West for example they attempted to prevent boys from weaing their hair long, but as in the West eventually gave up the struggle--as long as the hair wasn't too long. It seems that blue jeans and rock and roll music along with the freedom they conveyed appears in the end to have been far more influential than Soviet relism and high culture. A reader who was active in rock and roll bands tells us, "I wish I could remember the name of a documentary I saw many years ago about the underground rock and roll scene in Russia (mostly Moscow) on how these kids were able to put together unofficial rock parties where they would bring in their illegal R&R records to play and another part of the movie was following around a R&R band in how hard it was to find places to practice and performance places that did not attract the authorities immediately. It was made in the 1980s and it showed all the differences in how Western youth were allowed to explore outside of mainstream entertainment and the tight controls of entertainment in the USSR." Of course there were other cuyrrebts at play in the eventual demise of the Soviet Union, such as nationalism and economics, but popular culture is cetainly an important part of the story,affecting how young people vu=iewed Communist and the Soviet government. A reader writes, "As for the USSR I could only think that Western R&R music from America, Britain, and Canada must have had a liberating effect on the younger generations and could have even influenced people like Gorbachev who while being older then the rock masses was still the youngest head of the Soviet Union and that could have influenced him into the opening up of the Soviet Empire. Maybe he just could not get the back beat of Ringo out of his head."

Created: 10:09 AM 7/13/2012
Last updated: 8:19 PM 7/3/2015