When Marvel decided to turn Captain America from a comic into a TV show, they did so at the perfect time given the growing tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. Although the two countries had been allies in the past, once the Truman Doctrine was announced, conflict began. When the Soviet Union began to spread Communism to neighboring countries, the U.S. felt threatened which led to a nuclear arms race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Because of this, U.S. nationalism became more prevalent and many people started to show increased signs of patriotism. By making Captain America a superhero for the free world, it gave all the patriots a figure to rally behind. In the show, Captain America’s enemy is a red skinned man named “The Red Skull” who is later revealed to be a general of the Nazi Party and a close friend of Adolf Hitler. World War II preceded the show but the country was still in disbelief about the inhumanity of the Nazi Party and so by including them as an enemy in the show, it fits the timing perfectly to attract viewers. Another reason why the writers picked the perfect time to start airing the show is because of the Vietnam War. Due to the Truman Doctrine, the United States was to try to prevent the expansion of communism, and the Soviet Union was trying to spread communism into South Vietnam. There were those who were against the war but in the show, Captain America represents the United States and he saves citizens, which represent countries being forced to become communist. This showed the public that the rest of the world needed the United States to be involved so that they don’t fall to communist influences. When Marvel decided to turn Captain America from a comic into a TV show, they did so at the perfect time given the growing tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. Although the two countries had been allies in the past, once the Truman Doctrine was announced, conflict began. When the Soviet Union began to spread Communism to neighboring countries, the U.S. felt threatened which led to a nuclear arms race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Because of this, U.S. nationalism became more prevalent and many people started to show increased signs of patriotism. By making Captain America a superhero for the free world, it gave all the patriots a figure to rally behind. In the show, Captain America’s enemy is a red skinned man named “The Red Skull” who is later revealed to be a general of the Nazi Party and a close friend of Adolf Hitler. World War II preceded the show but the country was still in disbelief about the inhumanity of the Nazi Party and so by including them as an enemy in the show, it fits the timing perfectly to attract viewers. Another reason why the writers picked the perfect time to start airing the show is because of the Vietnam War. Due to the Truman Doctrine, the United States was to try to prevent the expansion of communism, and the Soviet Union was trying to spread communism into South Vietnam. There were those who were against the war but in the show, Captain America represents the United States and he saves citizens, which represent countries being forced to become communist. This showed the public that the rest of the world needed the United States to be involved so that they don’t fall to communist influences.
While tough to read, this post was very enlightening. I enjoyed your analyses for why this was the perfect time to create Captain America as a show. I also appreciated your inclusion of several links to outside texts to further understand your analysis. I found the name "Red Skull" very predictable as a choice to depict communism and the Nazi Party as red villain, because that color is often associated to those two, as in the case with the Red Scare. Finally, I wonder if there were any statistics to show the effectiveness in using Captain America to persuade the US populous to support the Vietnam War.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Brennan on it being tough to read. You should probably change the color of the text :-D. However other than that, very nice analysis. I am kind of curious to know why they included the Nazi Party into the cartoon if they are anti-communist. The reason why the tension started between the US and the Soviet Union was because they had contrasting views (Pro-communism and Anti-communism). So including the Nazi-Party who are anti-communist as well as the United states does not make sense to me. I'm wondering their reasoning behind that, but nice post!
ReplyDeleteI like how your post clearly pointed out the kairotic moments that gave Captain America its popularity and its storylines, mainly the Truman Doctrine and the Vietnam War. However, like Deborah said, I don't really understand the connection between the fascist Red Skull and these kairotic moments that were promoting anti-communism. Other than that, I enjoyed this post and I found it interesting how although WWII preceded the comics they still used an anti-nazi message. Perhaps this demonstrates a misuse of kairos since they were a little late to the game?
ReplyDeleteI agree with what the previous posts have stated. I think it is important to note that the TV show was released around the time of the nuclear arms race, but I don't really understand how that can relate to The Red Skull and his connection to the Nazi Party. Either way, the show did encourage people to support their country and promoted America's strength and apparent greatness. It's interesting how media and entertainment and current events are so closely intertwined.
ReplyDeleteThis analysis was helpful in understanding the reasoning behind the transformation of the classic comic into a TV show. These sort of actions typically reflect the audience and social attitude of the era, and influence the generation that experiences this change. I think your justification for why you believe this event was positive is strong, and provides your reader with plenty of context and evidence.
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