The Naked Communist

Informationen zum Autor Roland Végs Klappentext Based on an analysis of American anti-Communist politics in the 1950s, the book presents parallel readings of modernism and popular fiction by concentrating on four recurrent figures (the world, the enemy, the secret, the catastrophe) in order to show that the two cultural fields participated in a common ideological program. "The Naked Communist provides readers with an intriguing theoretical discussion of the forces of Cold War modernity. Roland Vesgo argues that four central figures shaped postwar ideology: the world, the enemy, the secret, and the catastrophe. The central purpose of his study is to examine the "aesthetic ideology," or more aptly put what constructed anti-Communism and how it developed. He uses nuclear holocaust, spy, and popular political novels juxtaposed with U.S. political culture and thought to show how these two seemingly different fields created a central ideology and program [...] Overall, Vesgo's work is a well-needed look at postwar mentality in terms of popular culture. The framing of fiction verses reality reinforces the notion that the public and the government interact--or mirror one another--to create social and national cohesion. The lay reader might find his use of theory cumbersome, but the apt scholar can easily see the complexity and dynamics of the era and how these undercurrents continue to shape current trends in nationalism and militarism." - Annessa Babic (New York Institute of Technology), H-Diplo Zusammenfassung Based on an analysis of American anti-Communist politics in the 1950s, the book presents parallel readings of modernism and popular fiction by concentrating on four recurrent figures (the world, the enemy, the secret, the catastrophe) in order to show that the two cultural fields participated in a common ideological program.

Autorentext

Roland Végs

Klappentext

Based on an analysis of American anti-Communist politics in the 1950s, the book presents parallel readings of modernism and popular fiction by concentrating on four recurrent figures (the world, the enemy, the secret, the catastrophe) in order to show that the two cultural fields participated in a common ideological program.