Monsters from the Id: Anxiety and Optimism in 1950s Science FictionIt was the era of McCarthyism, the Korean War, and nightmares of nuclear oblivion—but, as this documentary illustrates, the 1950s also witnessed a surge of optimism and confidence in America that figured prominently in the period’s science fiction cinema. Interweaving clips from over thirty classic movies, the film describes the emergence of a distinctly 20th-century archetype, the Modern Scientist, which emboldened an uncertain nation to face new challenges head-on. Chief among these was the 1957 launch of Sputnik, a principal catalyst in the international space race and a paradigm shift in the way Americans imagined space travel. Commentary on the decade’s scientific and sociological transformation—and on America’s shortcomings in science and technology today—comes from Homer Hickam, retired NASA engineer and inspiration for the 1999 movie October Sky; Dr. Patrick Lucanio, author of Smokin’ Rockets: The Romance of Technology in Film, Radio, and Television in the 1950s; film critic and sci-fi expert Richard Scheib; and others. (52 minutes)