The Manchurian Candidate Analysis

In the 1950’s, Senator Joseph McCarthy turned Americans against each other by installing fear in the people regarding toward Communism. During this time, in fact, people were getting blacklisted even if they weren't communist. In an incident at the Republican Women’s Club of Wheeling, McCarthy delivered a speech. The situation involving the Senator escalated when he stated that the State Department is infested with Communist. In this point in time, due to the false allegations, people went on a decade long period of witch hunts. Sam Roberts, the author of “A Decade of Fear” stated that in fact, “...thousands of alleged Communists in the U.S. were arrested and deported during what became known as the Red Scare.”

During the late 1940s and the early 1950s, the thought of communism instilled fear within many Americans because it was portrayed in such a way that confined diversity and corroded political culture. This fear of communism was nicknamed the “Red Scare” and was fed by Joseph McCarthy’s accusations of hidden communist in the country. The Manchurian Candidate was a black-and-white American film released in 1962 that depicted the Cold War and the effects that paranoia had on the nation. It was released at the peak of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the spread of communism. This film was about Raymond Shaw, the son of a right-wing political family, who was brainwashed to act as an assassin for his mother in a communist conspiracy theory. Major Bennet (Ben) Marco was another main character that played an important role in discovering the truth of Shaw’s brainwashing. Raymond Shaw faced the conflict of acting upon his free will while still being subconsciously manipulated by someone else. Throughout the film, Shaw was shown committing actions that he does not recall whatsoever later due to his programming which was triggered by the Queen of Diamonds playing card. Through the use of film techniques, The Manchurian Candidate creates a scenario which resembles the manifestation of America’s “Red Scare” paranoia in that the film portrays Raymond Shaw as an individual who lacks human agency due to his brainwashing because of a communist conspiracy.

During the late 1940s and the early 1950s, the thought of communism instilled fear within many Americans because it was portrayed in such a way that confined diversity and corroded political culture while the United States was supposed to be the land of the free. This fear of communism was nicknamed the “Red Scare” and was fed by Joseph McCarthy’s accusations of hidden communist in the country. The Manchurian Candidate was a black-and-white American film released in 1962 that depicted the Cold War and the affects of that paranoia had on the nation. It was released at the peak of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the spread of communism. This film was about Raymond Shaw, the son of a right-wing political family, who was brainwashed to act as an assassin

The Red Scare, also known as McCarthyism, took place during the 1950’s when Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy was elected during a time of fear as the Cold War’s lasting effects wore on the people of America. McCarthy could twist the anger and fear of the American citizens to produce a new social phenomenon, Communism invading our politics. McCarthy was elected as the Senator in 1946 and became a household name four years later in 1950 when he claimed 205 communists infiltrated the State Department. McCarthy’s vigorous investigation for communists in the political society made him an incredibly influential political figure. Two years later in 1952, he obtained the chairmanship for the Government Operations Party while also being reelected. McCarthy began questioning

During the time of the “Red Scare” McCarthy stated that he “loved to manipulate people,” (Oakley 207). He was able to “swagger” in the meeting and he knew that he could stir up “turmoil and confusion” at a moment’s notice. Once

The Red Scare, also known as, McCarthyism started in the early 1950’s. It got the name McCarthyism from Senator Joseph Raymond McCarthy. McCarthy started The Red Scare. It was very similar to a witch hunt but, it wasn’t witches they were hunting for. They were searching for communist. The Red Scare was a horrible and cruel period during the early 1900’s.

The films The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Seven Days in May (1964) and Fail Safe (1964) were the emergence of a new political film genre recognized as political thrillers. The films individually focused on specific political issues that were going on in real American society like The Manchurian Candidate focused on McCarthyism and communism, Seven Days in May focused on inside betrayal in the White House, and Fail Safe focused on issues with Russia. What made these films create a new genre was that collectively they had a twist that the audience wouldn’t expect to see. For example the Manchurian Candidate add a complexity to each and every character that for the length of the film they’re deemed to be troubled like the brainwashed veteran from the Korean War Major Bennett Marco portrayed by Frank Sinatra to assassinate when commanded to do so. The shocking conclusion of the film is that in the end it was his mother (portrayed by Angela Lansbury) who was commanding him to do so since she herself was a communist and did a very well job at manipulating not only her son but blaming other people for being communists in order to keep her own cover something that wasn’t incorporated into films quite yet until this film. The twists, complexity, and manipulation by the characters are what made this a political thriller and the first and foremost established as one in 1962. The thrill continues in Seven Days in May, but the story line shifts completely, it’s something fictional but

Setting is also important, as it refers to the period this book was set in, the 1950’s. Ultimately, it is a reflection of what was happening in American society at the time, and what American society expected from each other. McCarthyism, as started by Senator Joseph McCarthy, was the most prevalent movement of the 1950’s, where there was great momentum for anti-communism and the suppression of the Anti-communist party. Freedom of speech was suppressed, just like speech and actions were inside the hospital. Here, the

During the 1950s there was a rise in the fear of communism called “The Red Scare”. Senator Joseph McCarthy was one of the many people who contributed to people’s fear by making a list of people who he said were communists even though there was no proof in most cases. In an article by Alan Brinkley called “The 1950s Part One: McCarthy and The Red Scare”, it informs, “McCarthy was only one of many who helped create the great fear. The Red Scare was visible in almost every area of American life” (Brinkley). This quote tell us that in the 1950s even though Senator Joseph McCarthy was a huge contributor to The Red Scare. His list of suspected communists made rumors spread and the people on the list get questioned and even go to jail when in some cases they were innocent. It also says in the article by USHistory.org called “McCarthyism: Witch Hunting and Blacklisting in America”, that, “In the 1950s anyone who was considered a communist could be questioned and thrown in jail” (USHistory.org). Which means that his allegations could have easily put people in prison.

The Second Red Scare was a period of heightened fears of the Soviet Union and the political ideology of Communism. The paranoia and hysteria inherent to this period led to discrimination of Communists. Joseph McCarthy was a main player in this Red Scare, which was sometimes called the “Witch-Hunts in Washington.” He was a Wisconsin senator who made claims against those whom he suspected of being Communists or Communist sympathizers.

1950’s America also highlights the danger of abusing fear. Congressmen of the era had exceptional control over public opinion and many used it to gain media attention and strengthen their chances for reelection. One example of a particularly notorious and ambitions politician was Joseph McCarthy from Wisconsin who decided that he would use fear to raise himself from obscurity into the public’s eye. McCarthy created a state of panic when he falsely accused thousands of governmental officials of being communist sympathizers and spies. The resulting pandemonium damaged the reputation and lives of hundreds of Americans and most importantly spurred a period of governmental disillusionment. Machiavelli would see McCarthy as a violator of the rules of fear and would predict that he would be hated by the people. As time has proven “McCarthyism” has become synonymous with witch hunting and is widely regarded as exploitive, McCarthy himself left congress a disgrace.

The First and Second Red Scare of the United States paved the way for a long standing fear of communism and proved to be one of America’s largest periods of mass hysteria. Throughout the years authors and analysts have studied and formed expository albeit argumentative books and articles in an attempt to further understand this period of time; the mindset held during this period however is shown to be completely different compared to now.

Before analysing individual science-fiction films from the 1950s, it is important to gain a clear understanding of the social, cultural and political background against which these films were set. Paranoia is a term frequently used to describe an acute, anxiety dominated medical condition (Paranoia, 2009), however in the context of 1950’s America, this term can be used more accurately to describe the general, delusionary mood of the nation. The first important event that influenced a paranoiac filmmaking atmosphere was the Cold War. As opposed to the ‘hot war’ (WWII) that involved active military hostilities, the Cold War was based on heightened tension and suspicions between Western Bloc (USA) powers and Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union) powers (The

The Red Scare and McCarthyism had begun Paranoia, disloyalty, people losing jobs. The Red Scare and McCarthyism both made everything else worse. Communism is a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs. At the end of the month when they get their paychecks they both end up with the same amount of money it is not fair, right? but that is more or less what McCarthyism is. During the 1950s, there was a great amount of paranoia and the government technically speaking did not confide in anyone else and falsely accused other people (Essay). The government was so paranoid that they had

The late 1940′s were a time when much change happened to the American society. As a result to the expanding threat of the Soviet Union, or its Communistic ideals, America took a stand that lead it to the Cold War.  Although the war didn’t involve fighting directly with Russia, it still affected the American society and domestic policy. The war affected America so much that it lead to a fear of livelihood; precisely when Joseph McCarthy began his “witch hunt”. The Cold war lead to an enlarged fear of nuclear war; as well, it affected many of the domestic policies.