The other living -room war: Evolving Cold War imagery in popular TV programs of the Vietnam era, 1960-1975

We know much about "the living-room war", the phrase associated with TV news coverage of the Vietnam conflict. This is an examination of the other living-room war of the time; prime time representation of Cold War themes in the Vietnam era. After Pearl Harbor, war films flourished. During the long, uncertain years of an unpopular war in Vietnam, Hollywood was nearly silent. With no entertaining parables of Why We Fight in Vietnam, we must examine indirect expressions to find values, assumptions, and mythologies about warfare and politics within this volatile period. Three genres are emphasized: Science Fiction, Espionage, World War II Combat. Each exhibited a cycle of abrupt appearance, a time of prosperity, then a marked decline from 1962-72. Even before Vietnam became a divisive issue, TV no longer represented the Cold War as it had in the '50s. Evidence of change and continuity appears in diverse programs.;Chapter 2 examines the spy fad including "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.", "I Spy", and "Mission Impossible". Notably, most of these shows refused to take the genre seriously. Not every world problem is traceable to communism. The spy shows both undercut and reinforce Cold war orthodoxy.;Chapter 3 discusses "The Twilight Zone" and "The Outer Limits". Science fiction is often given to social allegory. A marked change in portrayal of Cold War themes from the '50s to the '60s is illustrated by stories tackling these issues. Treatment yields ambivalence and contradictions in contrast to the categorical anti-communism of the '50s.;Chapter 4 analyzes "Star Trek". The series encompasses central cultural and political themes in American life including the frontier myth and the Puritan conception of "The City on a Hill". Stories pit the democratic Federation against an evil empire, the Klingons, in Cold War scenarios.;Chapter 5 discusses war shows of the period, "Combat", "The Rat Patrol", and "MASH". Military sitcoms and dramas thrived in the '60s, though they were extinct by the 1968-69 season. The ethos of "MASH" bridged contemporary social divisions.