And Speaking of the Cold War Imagination...

As we come up to the 60th anniversary of the start of the Atomic Age, followed hard upon by the Cold War, the Turner Classic Movie channel has been highlighting science fiction films of the 1950s and 60s, including what it calls Cold War Cinema.

If you recall these movies--the post-apocalyptic dramas, alien invasions and subversions (like "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"), the Bug-Eyed Monster movies, etc.--you may be interested in how they reflect the fears of the time. Which aren't all that far away from the fears of ours. Because you're going to be seeing very similar sorts of sci-fi on all three commercial broadcast networks this fall.

So follow the bouncing link to our illustrated essay on Cold War Cinema.