1950's
THE FILM “THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE”:
A REFLECTION OF THE 1950s
Government conflicts, paranoia and fear of psychological warfare: these major elements of the movie “Manchurian Candidate” reflect the prevailing sentiment of America in the course of the Cold War. When the movie “Manchurian Candidate” was released in 1962, America was in the midst of fighting its battle of fear---the hallmark of the Cold War. The film’s probe into this fear illuminates “The Manchurian Candidate’s” central themes: mind control, McCarthyism and momism.
“The Manchurian Candidate” unfolds in the Korean War, 1952. The troop of Major Bennett Marco, including the rigid and unloved Sergeant Raymond Shaw, is betrayed by a Korean guide. Instead of being led to the right direction, they are whisked away over the border into Manchuria and are subjected to three days of brainwashing by communists. Raymond Shaw, the elected Manchurian puppet, becomes “a normally-conditioned American, who has been trained to kill and then to have no memory of having killed. Without memory of his deed, he cannot possibly feel guilt.... now Raymond will remain an outwardly normal, productive, sober, and respected member of the community.... His brain has not only been washed, as they say, it’s been dry cleaned” (Filmsite). In the time that “The Manchurian Candidate” was filmed and shown, the theory that brainwashing existed was prevalent. Brainwashing was a term coined by Edward Hunter to describe thought reform programs supposedly administered by Chinese communists to influence their own people and prisoners of war into espousing the communist credo. According to Hunter, the methodology included starvation, sleep deprivation and isolation of victims for long periods of time. The victims were then told harshly that their political and social beliefs were wrong (Hunter 60).
Is this claim valid? No evidence has sprung up that supports this fantastic claim. According to Abbott Gleason, author of book...
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