Introduction

           Hello readers! We really appreciate you coming to read our blog Communism vs Capitalism in the 1960's. We are 5 students at the University of Maryland in various scholars programs within the university. Through considerable research and analysis we are able to provide insight on the influence of media on the depiction of communism in the United States during the 1960's. In order to portray this, we analyzed two texts in the late 1950's and early 1960's through rhetorical appeals:  a comic book cover "The Red Iceberg" and a newspaper article by Daniel F Gilmore named "Man on Threshold of Space". From analyzing these texts, we concluded that through the escalation of conflict, both texts portray communism as an imminent threat to America’s authority on the world stage, thus calling upon collective action in the face of the red scare.
           During the 1960's, one source of animosity in America was the Cold War. America was at "war" with the Soviet Union, and although there was never any official violence between the two countries, Americans were on high alert against the USSR and communism. Communism, to Americans, was intimidating to their way of life. People feared the idea of not being free, and that picture had been furthered by the launching of the first Russian satellite.
           The article by Daniel F Gilmore, the United States Press Staff Corespondent, "Man on Threshold of Space". In this article, Gilmore discusses the success of Russian launching the first satellite into space. This was a mighty blow to U.S. morale; the Russians had beat the U.S at something which threatened U.S's super power status, making communism on shore a real threat. This lead to further propaganda against Russia, as fear of communism had become a real threat. The resulting propaganda can be portrayed by the comic cover "Red Iceberg". The Red Iceberg was publicized in order to warn Americans of the danger that communism posed to U.S. democracy. The image depicts Uncle Sam sitting on a boat heading towards a red iceberg which depicts the symbol of communism ( the hammer and sickle) as well as many gravestones of many nations (expressing the death of a nation due to communism). The cover is warning Americans of steering clear of communism.
            This idea has been important in more recent times as well, especially the past month. This is because of the relationships between Trumps campaign officers and Russia as well as the relationship between his pick for the national security advisory and Russia. The latter is extremely important because of how important the roll is in the US government. Even though we are no longer at "war" with Russia, we still aren't allies with them so the fact that Trump seems to be on such good terms with the Russian government is very troubling and some have even said that he should be impeached over this scandal.
            The newspaper article argues for pressure on the government in order to be more proactive in the 'race' for authority on the world stage, while the comic book cover argues for the need of people to be aware of the presence of communism around them. Ultimately, each text argue for the execution of a unique action on the part of the people, by inciting suspicion, doubt, and fear. We argue that these texts are still valuable today because propaganda is still used to serve various ends. However, this propaganda is often more subtle and even barely visible due to hyper exposure in everyday situations. This propaganda, at its most complex, comes in the form of advertisements in a capitalist society.


  

Stasis Theory in Newspaper Article

The article exemplifies the action aspect of stasis theory. While the headline simply states that the Russians have won the race to launch the first satellite in space, the subject lines of the articles contained within the paper are pointing to the various reactions the public and the government must be having in response to this defeat by the soviets. Among them is the fact that the ‘U.S. may speed up [their] satellite program’, indicating that the U.S. is contemplating how to respond to the increased threat of Russian progress. Another article seems to explain how to spot the satellite, as if attempting to provide some means of security or false illusion of control. Additionally, the sub-headline states that man is ‘on the threshold of space travel’ seemingly implying that the soviet success with sputnik will have a domino effect in the rest of the space program. The implication of a domino effect is evidence for an urging for action in order to ensure that the first person on the moon is an American. Overall, the paper seems to lack a bit of focus and reflect a confusion, at the heart of which asks: “What do we do next?”

~Eva

Kairos in Video

Duck and Cover Video

This video is particularly meaningful because of its Kairos. It aired when people were seriously concerned about atomic bomb threats from other countries during the cold war. It incited fear and paranoia in its viewers as it urged people to protect themselves in the case of an explosion. The video gives countless examples of how atomic bombs are dangerous, such as the severe burns and destruction that can occur. It is effective because, by nature of the time period, atomic explosions were feared. The video encouraged people, especially children, to understand the dangers of atomic bombs and what to do during a bomb threat. This was the perfect time to present this video because it would be most well received at this moment. People were seriously concerned about the bomb threats, and people would have gladly accepted any advice to improve their security during this time. 

Stasis Theory in The Red Iceberg

The comic book cover "The Red Iceberg" uses the stasis of cause and effect to emphasize  the importance of avoiding communism. The cover portrays Uncle Sam sitting on a ship drifting out on the sea, heading towards a red iceberg with tombstones of various nations including China, Hungary and Poland. The red iceberg in this comic depicts communism. The iceberg is red as this was the color associated with communism; the symbol of communism is also etched onto the iceberg (the hook with the hammer through it).The purpose of this "Red Iceberg" is to demonstrate the root of all destruction of the tombed nations,communism. The tomb stones on the iceberg represent the many nation destroyed by this governing system, thereby showing a causal relationship between communism and the destruction of nations. The cover is portraying the importance of the U.S. avoiding the iceberg, avoiding communism, due to its destruction to a nation, as can be shown by the tomb stones already destroyed by this governing system. This cover may also be interpreted as a stasis of call to action, as the comic book is encouraging people to be wary of communistic ideals, however, much of the comic demonstrates the importance of not falling victim to communism, the way many other nations have.

-Shaher Bano

Kairos - Newspaper Article

The timing of this newspaper article is absolutely perfect for the effect it is looking for. In a time in which Americans were afraid of losing their way of life to the communists, having an example of some sort of superiority by the Soviets was scary. Had this taken place 20 years earlier, it would not have been a big deal, as long as we were working on something similar. The fact that they were our rivals and "next up" to go to war with the United States was intimidating and lit a fire in the US's stomach. In a time when the American public was on high alert, this newspaper article served as a wake-up call and demonstration of the power the Soviets had.
Peter

Audience of Capitalism Cartoon

Capitalism Cartoon

The audience of this cartoon is clearly the American public. This is extremely evident for a few reasons. One example of this is that the character is wearing a Captain America-like costume. Another reason is the fact that he's riding on a bald eagle. The cartoon depicts capitalism as being a wonderful economic system. It does this by showing the character holding a bunch of money with more flying behind him. This also implies that other economic systems are inferior to capitalism because they will not result in as much money for citizens. This cartoon does a good job of making capitalism seem good because who wouldn't want to ride a bald eagle while wearing a Captain America costume and holding a bunch of money.

- Conor Cochran

Pathos Miscellaneous Source: Ain't I Right by Marty Robbins

Ain't I Right By Marty Robbins

The song "Ain't I Right" by Marty Robbins was a widely popular song produced in 1966 in order to portray the detrimental affects communism has on the U.S. Through the use of pathos, Robbins is able to demonstrate the widespread dysfunction and division that communism causes within the U.S. and the importance of banishing such ideology in the nation. The song itself has an fast beat, which is generally associated with happy music, despite the message of the song being far more serious. Robbins mentions the struggle of the common people, the corruption within the government and the great divide that communistic activities are causing within the nation, all of which are issue to be taken seriously. The purpose behind this contrasting tone and message is to appeal to a much larger audience; by making the music more upbeat and "catchy", people are more likely to listen to it in times of leisure and agree with the conclusions of the singer as compared to if the beat were more melancholy. Throughout the passage, the author mentions repetitively how the communists do not care for the people, insisting that these people have much to gain from American suffering and see this activism and destruction to American ideals as "a game". By portraying communists as uncaring people who see American ideals as "a game", Robbins is able to incite anger into the listener, as this passage makes it seem  Americans are being taken advantage of, something that no true American desires.  Robbins  repeats the phrase "Ain't I Right" every time he criticizes communism; he does this in order to make it seems as though Americans are reaching their own conclusions of right and wrong, despite simply following the ideas laid out to them by the singer. Through the use of pathos, Marty is able to successfully  convince his audience the detrimental effects communism is having on this nation, as well as the effects if such communist policies were put in place. 

-Shaher Bano