Watch the political commercials linked to the course website. Focusing on one or more of the commercials, discuss what it reveals about changing American attitudes toward Cold War national defense priorities.
One thought on “Week 9 Day 1 Discussion Question 3”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
The “Daisy Girl” commercial starts with a child counting the pedals of a flower peacefully, but then the stark contrast of an atomic bomb countdown interject. The Cold War sparked a panic in the US that nuclear war was on the brink. “Daisy Girl” perpetuates the chaos and fear that was in the eyes of the US society through the camera zooming in on the child’s eye. The Cold War changed the American attitude toward national defense to make it a major priority. The commercial hopes that Americans will feel the need to vote for Johnson when they see Goldwater as an extremist and risky president at a time the US needs caution. At the end when the speaker says “the stakes are too high for you to stay home,” the viewer can understand what is at stake in the US. A President who will bring peace to the US is emphasized rather than a President who may invoke war. The American people were fearful and nervous of the future of their children, so using a child in the commercial was a great way to catch the viewers attention. The US society needed to see that the government was taking the overseas affairs very seriously since for the first time the US thought the war could come to their home turf.