The Cold War influenced culture through music, movies, books, television, and other forms of media, as well as sports, social ideas, and daily actions. Important parts of the Cold War included the fear of communism spreading, the risk of nuclear war, and secret spying linked to these issues. Many stories and creative works use the Cold War as a setting or show a made-up conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union and their allies. From 1953 to 1962, themes related to the Cold War became widely popular and a major focus for the public.

Fictional spy stories

During the Cold War, stories about spies and secret missions became widely popular in both the East and West. Many books and movies showed how divided and dangerous the world was during this time. In the Soviet Union, people enjoyed spy stories that highlighted how KGB agents worked to stop secret plans by American, British, and Israeli intelligence agencies. After 1963, Hollywood movies often portrayed the CIA in two ways: as foolish characters, like in the comedy TV show Get Smart, or as harmful figures, as seen in the 1992 film JFK by Oliver Stone. Spy novels by Ian Fleming about James Bond, an MI6 agent, also included Cold War themes when adapted into films. For example, the first James Bond movie, Dr. No, released in 1962, used the Cuban Missile Crisis as a basis for its story. However, the film changed the setting from Cuba to Jamaica.

Books and literature

Atomsk, written by Paul Linebarger and published in 1949, is the first novel about espionage during the Cold War. Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank. Arc Light by Eric L. Harry. Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin is a science fiction book that explores how different cultures and ideas exist between alien societies, including a planet with a type of government where people work together without leaders. Red Alert by Peter George. Resurrection Day by Brendan DuBois. Twilight 2000, a role-playing game. Warday by Whitley Strieber and James Kunetka. Tom Clancy novels: Red Storm Rising, a 1986 book about a war between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Other Tom Clancy novels, such as The Hunt for Red October and The Cardinal of the Kremlin, are part of the Jack Ryan series and take place during the East-West conflict. Later, Red Rabbit describes a "What-If" situation where the Soviet Union is behind the 1981 assassination attempt on the Pope. 1984 by George Orwell. Frederick Forsyth's spy novels were sold in the hundreds of thousands. The Fourth Protocol, a book about a series of rules that, if broken, could cause nuclear war, was made into a movie starring Michael Caine. The Manchurian Candidate, by Richard Condon, shows a Communist plot against the United States that uses a reference to Joseph McCarthy. This suggests that if McCarthy accused many people of being communist agents, it might hide real communists. This idea of communists and capitalists working together to harm the free world appeared in later movies and TV shows. The Ugly American, written by William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick and published in 1958, describes how the United States government failed in its foreign policy. The main character, Homer Atkins, learns this when he is sent to a fictional Southeast Asian country called Sarkhan. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, by Alexander Solzhenitsyn and published in 1962, tells the story of a soldier who is sent to a Siberian prison camp after being falsely accused of treason. This book exposed the harsh conditions in Russian prison camps during World War II under Stalin's rule. Solzhenitsyn won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein.

The Turner Diaries (1978) is a fictional book that is known to have inspired terrorist attacks and far-right extremist groups. In the final scene before the epilogue, the main character performs a suicide attack on the Pentagon using an aircraft carrying a nuclear bomb.

The Revolt, written by Menachem Begin before he became Prime Minister, tells the story of the Lehi (called F.F.I. or "Freedom Fighters of Israel" in early English editions) and Begin's Irgun fighters during the Jewish insurgency in Palestine. This book influenced groups with different beliefs, including those that used suicide attacks in the 1990s. The book was reportedly found in Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization. Begin praised his fighters for their willingness to die, saying, "These two wonderful young men greeted the sentence with the singing of Hatikvah." The "two wonderful young men" were two fighters who died in a suicide attack in 1947. Begin described their deaths as, "They too sang on the threshold of death — a song of faith in God: 'Lord of the world who reigned before creation.' But their song ended with a great explosion which shattered the silence of the prison in occupied Jerusalem." In 1977, Begin became Prime Minister after being in opposition. He often mentioned historical fighters in his speeches and praised their actions during the Palestine insurgency in the 1940s, including the leader of the group that bombed the King David Hotel (killing 91 people and one terrorist). His favorite fighters were the two young men who died in the 1947 prison attack.

Post Cold War works about the Cold War

• Twilight Struggle is a 2005 board game created by GMT Games. It shows the events of the Cold War, from the time of Joseph Stalin to the time of Ronald Reagan. The game became a video game in 2016.

• Thirteen Days (2001) is a movie about the Cuban Missile Crisis.
• Bridge of Spies (2015) is a movie about a spy exchange.

Cinema

During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union used movies to influence people's opinions in their own countries and around the world. American movies were generally of higher quality than Soviet films, which gave the United States an advantage. Americans hoped that their success in cinema could help balance their lack of progress in areas like nuclear weapons and space exploration. Using movies as a tool for spreading ideas became another important part of the Cold War, similar to the competition in weapons and space. Films from both countries can be seen as examples of propaganda and also as responses to it.

The United States used its strong film industry to help shape public opinion about communism. Between 1948 and 1953, 70 films were made that clearly criticized communism. American movies included Cold War themes in many different types of films, which helped them stand out compared to Soviet films. Even though some people did not enjoy these films, they were still effective in spreading messages in both the United States and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union responded by making its own films to challenge the American portrayal of communism.

Several groups helped control the content of American movies to support the United States' goals. The Catholic Legion of Decency and the Production Code Administration were two groups that influenced what movies were made during the early Cold War. These groups removed movies they thought were politically dangerous or morally wrong. Another group, the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, made sure films showed strong support for American values. The FBI also played a major role in movies by monitoring Hollywood, helping to identify people linked to communism, and working with the government to produce films that showed the FBI as protectors of the American people. The FBI even supported films like The Hoaxsters, which won an Oscar.

By the 1960s, American movies often used spy stories to show the enemy. Earlier, Cold War themes appeared in many types of films, but by the 1960s, spy movies became a major way to show the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. These films increased fear and made people feel uneasy about both foreign and domestic threats.

Between 1946 and 1954, the Soviet Union also used movies as a tool in the Cold War. The Central United Film Studios and the Committee on Cinema Affairs were responsible for making films that supported the Soviet Union's goals. Under Stalin’s rule, movies had to follow strict rules, and films that did not show enough support for the Soviet Union were banned. Despite these rules, the Soviet Union made many films that clearly criticized the United States. In these films, American and British characters were often shown as villains. Soviet filmmakers also changed historical events in movies, such as showing the Red Army as peaceful instead of violent. This showed the Soviet Union’s growing fear of the United States.

Even though the Soviet Union tried to use movies to spread anti-American messages, the government later believed these films did not reach enough people. Many of the people who watched these films were those who already liked American culture, so the message may not have been effective.

After Stalin’s death, the Soviet Union gave filmmakers more freedom. In the late 1950s and 1960s, movies focused on showing the benefits of Soviet life and trying to prove that life in the Soviet Union was better than in the United States.

In 1957, Russian science fiction began to develop after the Soviet Union relaxed censorship and achieved success in space exploration. One famous example was Andromeda, a science fiction story about the future. These stories used ideas from history to imagine a peaceful future under communism. Some writers also criticized the Soviet government’s system, even though they were part of the official Communist movement.

Examples of films related to nuclear threats include:
– Duck and Cover (1951): A movie that teaches people how to act during a nuclear attack.
– Five (1951): A film about five survivors of a nuclear war trying to live together.
– On the Beach (1959): A story about life in Australia after a nuclear war.
– Ladybug Ladybug (1963): A film that warns children about nuclear dangers.
– Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964): A comedy that makes fun of the Cold War and nuclear threats.
– Fail-Safe (1964): A movie based on a book about nuclear tensions.
– The War Game (1965): A film showing the effects of a nuclear war in Britain.
– Damnation Alley (1977): A story about survivors of a nuclear attack trying to find others.
– The Children's Story (1982): A short film about a teacher teaching a class under a totalitarian government.

Television

• Airwolf
• Danger Man (Known as Secret Agent in the United States)
• I Led Three Lives – The first popular media about the Cold War.
• I Spy (1965–68 US television series)
• Get Smart
• MacGyver
• The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
• Mission: Impossible
• Quatermass II
• Several episodes of Star Trek showed a futuristic version of the Cold War, with the United Federation of Planets vs. The Klingon Empire and the Romulan Star Empire, which represented the United States, the Soviet Union, and the People's Republic of China. The episode "A Taste of Armageddon" showed the idea of MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction) in a war between opposing sides.
• Scarecrow and Mrs. King
• Ivan the Terrible (1976 sitcom)
• The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show (1960s cartoon for children and adults), where the villains, Boris and Natasha, were parodies of Soviet spies.
• The Sandbaggers
• The Twilight Zone, with episodes like "The Shelter" (1961) and "Shelter Skelter" (1987), which discussed fallout shelters and Cold War themes. Other episodes, such as "A Small Talent for War" (1986), commented on Cold War issues and world peace.
• The Transformers (TV series), where the first two seasons took place during the late Cold War. An episode called "Prime Target" referred to a moment of high tension between the United States and the Soviet Union since the Cuban Missile Crisis.
• The Tomorrow People (1970s TV series), which included storylines about Cold War tensions, such as the British and Soviet militaries wanting to use the Tomorrow People’s fictional powers like telepathy, teleportation, and telekinesis.

Wendy's Hamburger Chain ran a television commercial that showed a supposed "Soviet Fashion Show." The commercial featured a large, unattractive woman wearing the same plain outfit in different situations, with only the accessory she carried changing (for example, a flashlight for "nightwear" or a beach ball for "swimwear"). This was meant to make fun of how Soviet society had uniformity and standardization, unlike the United States, which had more freedom of choice.

Apple Computer’s "1984" ad, while inspired by George Orwell’s novel, took a serious and bold approach to the theme of freedom vs. totalitarianism, which was a key issue between the United States and the Soviet Union at the time.

Daisy was the most famous campaign commercial of the Cold War. It aired only once on September 7, 1964, and helped Lyndon B. Johnson win against Barry Goldwater in the 1964 presidential election. The commercial was controversial and emotionally powerful.

The commercial begins with a young girl in a meadow counting petals on a flower. Her innocence and mistakes in counting make her endearing. When she reaches "9," a serious male voice starts counting down a rocket launch. The girl looks up, and the camera zooms in on her eye, filling the screen with blackness. The countdown ends, and a bright flash and loud sound are shown, followed by footage of a nuclear explosion similar to the Trinity test of 1945 and a mushroom cloud.

As the fireball rises, the screen cuts to a glowing part of the mushroom cloud. A voiceover from Johnson says, "These are the stakes! To make a world in which all of God's children can live, or to go into the dark. We must either love each other, or we must die." Another voiceover adds, "Vote for President Johnson on November 3. The stakes are too high for you to stay home." Johnson won the election in a large victory two months later.

" Bear in the Woods " was a 1984 campaign ad supporting Ronald Reagan for President. It showed a brown bear (likely representing the Soviet Union) wandering through the woods. Though the ad did not mention the Soviet Union, the Cold War, or Walter Mondale, it suggested Reagan was better at handling the Soviets than his opponent.

Humor

The 1984 "We begin bombing in five minutes" incident is an example of cold war dark humor. It was a joke made by Ronald Reagan, his White House staff, and radio technicians that was accidentally shared with the American people. At the time, Reagan was already known for making jokes about the Soviet Union and Russia during televised debates. Many of these jokes are now available on video websites.

The joke was based on the opening line of a speech Reagan gave that day. It was inspired by a real event: In 1959, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev visited Los Angeles and was not allowed to enter Disneyland for security reasons. He joked, "I was told I could not go to Disneyland. Why not? Do you have rocket launching pads there?" Walt Disney, the founder of Disneyland, was also disappointed because he had planned to show Khrushchev a ride called the Submarine Voyage, which was not actually a submarine fleet.

Arts

The United States and the Soviet Union competed in the arts during the Cold War. Cultural events took place in cities like Moscow, New York, London, and Paris. In 1946, the United States opened an exhibition called "Advancing American Art" to share American art with the world. In response, the Soviet Union held an exhibition to display Soviet Realism. The Soviets were known for their achievements in ballet and chess, while the United States was recognized for its contributions to jazz and abstract expressionist paintings. The United States supported its own ballet companies, and both nations used ballet as a way to influence public opinion by showing their lifestyles. A famous dancer leaving the Soviet Union to join the United States was a significant event.

Chess was a low-cost competition, and the Soviet Union often won until the United States introduced Bobby Fischer, who changed the outcome. The Space Race was much more expensive and represented a competition for scientific leadership, as space technology had clear military uses. Both countries also competed in the Olympics during the Cold War, which caused tension when Western nations boycotted the 1980 Soviet Olympics.

Music

After President Franklin D. Roosevelt died and World War II ended in 1945 with the use of nuclear weapons in Japan, tensions quickly grew between the United States and the Soviet Union, starting the Cold War in 1946. Musicians performing in the United States during this time faced sudden changes in international politics and diplomacy.

In 1946, the U.S. State Department took over cultural programs in South America that had been started by President Roosevelt’s Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs in 1941. At first, the State Department encouraged top musicians to perform and broadcast music in support of its Pan-Americanism policy through its Office of International Broadcasting and Cultural Affairs. Musicians like Alfredo Antonini, Néstor Mesta Cháyres, and John Serry Sr. continued to perform live radio broadcasts for South America on CBS’s Viva América show during the early years of the Cold War. However, by the end of the decade, the focus of American foreign policy shifted to Europe, and these broadcasts to South America were gradually stopped.

Musicians in the 1940s and 1950s, especially those in jazz and folk music, were influenced by fears of nuclear war. Bob Dylan, one of the most famous musicians of this time, wrote songs like "Masters of War" and "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" (written just before the Cuban Missile Crisis). In 1965, Barry McGuire’s version of P. F. Sloan’s song "Eve of Destruction" became a top hit in the United States and other countries.

Van Cliburn, a pianist, was honored with a ticker tape parade in New York City after winning a music competition in the Soviet Union.

From 1956 to the late 1970s, the U.S. State Department sent top jazz musicians to the Soviet Union to share music that appealed to young people, show racial harmony in the United States, and promote freedom through jazz, which was seen as a democratic and creative art form. These jazz tours continued through the 1970s.

In addition to jazz, the U.S. State Department supported classical music performances by American orchestras and soloists as part of its cultural diplomacy efforts during the Cold War. In the 1950s, the bass-baritone William Warfield performed in six European tours featuring the opera Porgy and Bess. In 1961–1962, Howard Hanson’s Eastman Philharmonia Orchestra toured 34 cities in 16 countries in Europe, the Middle East, and Russia.

The U.S. Seventh Army also helped with cultural diplomacy during the Cold War. The Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra was created in 1952 in Stuttgart, Germany, by Corporal Samuel Adler to show shared cultural heritage between the United States, its European allies, and former enemy nations in Europe. The orchestra performed across Europe from 1952 to 1961, playing classical and modern American music. Early members of the orchestra included conductors like John Ferritto, James Dixon, Kenneth Schermerhorn, and Henry Lewis.

In 1969, Jimi Hendrix performed an instrumental version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the Woodstock festival, using effects to distort the song’s tone and holding up peace symbols.

During the 1980s, many protest songs reflected growing concerns about rising tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union under leaders Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. For example, some artists wore military-style costumes to symbolize the increased focus on military matters in the 1980s. The song "Two Tribes" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood featured a music video with caricatures of Reagan and Soviet leader Konstantin Chernenko in a wrestling match.

Other songs expressed fear of nuclear war, such as Sting’s "Russians," which included lyrics like "I don’t subscribe to his point of view." Songs like Sly Fox’s "Let’s Go All the Way" and The Escape Club’s "Wild, Wild West" referenced Cold War themes, while Fischer-Z’s album Red Skies over Paradise and Genesis’s "Land of Confusion" explored confusion about the world and nuclear war.

In the 1980s, punk rock bands like The Clash, Dead Kennedys, and Reagan Youth criticized Cold War policies, including nuclear deterrence strategies. A compilation called P.E.A.C.E. included bands from around the world to promote peace. The band The Scars performed a song based on Peter Porter’s poem "Your Attention Please," which described a radio broadcast about nuclear war.

One of the most famous 1980s songs against Cold War tensions was Nena’s "99 Luftballons," which described how releasing 99 red toy balloons could lead to nuclear war.

The Swedish band Imperiet’s song "Coca Cola Cowboys" was a rock song about how the world was divided between two superpowers, both claiming to represent justice.

Roman Palester, a classical music composer, had his works banned in Poland and the Soviet Union because of his involvement with Radio Free Europe, even though he was considered Poland’s greatest living composer at the time.

Theatre

• Chess: The game of chess was a way that the two superpowers competed, as shown in the musical.
• Miss Saigon: Miss Saigon represents the last stage of the Vietnam War, which ended with the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975.

Consumerism

Historians discuss whether the spread of American shopping habits to Western Europe and Japan was connected to the Cold War. Steigerwald examines this discussion by reviewing the book Trams or Tailfins? Public and Private Prosperity in Postwar West Germany and the United States (2012) by Jan L. Logemann:

The Freakonomics Radio podcast episode "How the Supermarket Helped America Win the Cold War (Ep. 386)" explains how supermarkets influenced American culture and shaped government policies related to farming. It also describes how supermarkets were used as tools to spread ideas against the Soviet Union. The use of makeup and the buying of makeup also played a part in society and in the competition between capitalism and communism.

Sports

During the Cold War, conflicts between the United States and the USSR influenced sports competitions, particularly in ice hockey, basketball, chess, and the Olympic Games.

• 1956: 1956 Summer Olympics – A tense match between the USSR and Hungary, known as the "Blood in the Water" game, occurred after the Hungarian Revolution and the Soviet invasion of Hungary.
• 1969: 1969 World Ice Hockey Championships – A competition between the USSR and Czechoslovakia took place after the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.
• 1972: 1972 Summer Olympics – The USSR defeated the United States in men’s basketball during a disputed gold medal game.
• 1972: Canada–USSR Summit Series – Canada beat the Soviet Union in an eight-game series featuring the top teams from both countries.
• 1972: 1972 World Chess Championship – Bobby Fischer (USA) defeated Boris Spassky (USSR) in a championship held in Reykjavik, Iceland.
• 1980: Miracle on Ice – The United States defeated the favored USSR in ice hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics.
• 1980: 1980 Summer Olympics – The United States did not participate due to a boycott.
• 1984: 1984 Summer Olympics – The Soviet Union did not participate due to a boycott.

Playground equipment

Playground equipment built during the Cold War was designed to encourage children's curiosity and excitement about the Space Race. It was placed in both Communist and non-Communist countries during the Cold War.

Video games

During this time, many games included themes related to nuclear war, reflecting the real-world dangers of that era. Some games listed here were created after the end of the Cold War but still include the Cold War as a main story element.

• Firefox
• Missile Command
• Raid over Moscow
• SDI
• Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
• DEFCON
• World in Conflict
• Crisis in the Kremlin
• Call of Duty: Black Ops
• Call of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified
• Call of Duty: Black Ops II
• Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
• Fallout (series)
• Command and Conquer: Red Alert

Protest culture

Anti-nuclear protests began in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In the United Kingdom, the first Aldermaston March, organized by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, happened in 1958. In 1961, during the Cold War, about 50,000 women joined by Women Strike for Peace marched in 60 cities across the United States to show opposition to nuclear weapons. In 1964, peace marches in several Australian capital cities included signs that said "Ban the bomb."

In the early 1980s, the restart of the nuclear arms race led to large protests against nuclear weapons. In October 1981, half a million people gathered in several Italian cities, more than 250,000 protested in Bonn, 250,000 demonstrated in London, and 100,000 marched in Brussels. The largest anti-nuclear protest occurred on June 12, 1982, when one million people in New York City protested against nuclear weapons. In October 1983, nearly 3 million people across western Europe protested nuclear missile deployments and called for an end to the arms race. The largest group of almost one million people met in the Hague, Netherlands. In Britain, 400,000 people took part in what was likely the largest demonstration in British history.

Other

• Barbie — Barbie showed what life was like in America because she bought many products.
• New Math was created after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, changing how math was taught to students.
• The Kitchen Debate was a spontaneous discussion between Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev at the American National Exhibition in Moscow on July 24, 1959. They spoke through interpreters.