STUDIES AND RESEARCH

SF in the Fifties

The US Science-fiction film of the Fifties

The paper is an overview of possibilities of thematic and narrative classifications of Hollywood science-fiction films in the fifties, their place in the history of the genre in the USA, and in the history of the concept of fear in the mass media.

Temporary vanning of horror in the late forties combined with the Cold War political antagonism and the advance of science caused an increased production of science fiction in the fifties. These films predominantly deal with the invasion on Earth and the appearance of various mutants and monsters as a result of radiation. The appearance of extraterrestrials or mutants functions also as a catalyst, which causes reality displacement, one of the main structural elements of science fiction.

By their production status and the expression of main themes in the genre, the films of the fifties represent the naivete of the genre, while the films from the late sixties to the late eighties form the classical phase. The films of the nineties form the manneristic phase of science fiction. The films of the fifties also easily fall in the tradition of fear, reflecting the contemporary fear of communist invasion. This element represents the main difference between the fifties and later phases of science fiction.

Bruno Kragić