Movies tell us how things really are!

The Korean War really freaked us out as a nation. "Why aren't we invincible!?" "Why are our POW's collaborating with the enemy!?" (And by collaborating I mean committing horrendous treasonous acts against the US of A, such as telling Korean prison officials your name).

The answer to these questions and more can be found in such popular films of the time as The Manchurian Candidate, My Son John, Them! and Things. In the Manchurian Candidate, the protagonist finds out he is a Soviet sleeper agent, brainwashed by his evil domineering mother to obey all orders when he is activated by the Queen of Diamonds. In the 1954 film Them! the world is in danger of being taken over by giant mutant ants until the CIA and US military destroy the Queen, nest and eggs with flame throwers. Are you starting to see the trend here? Mothers are evil.

In an attempt to explain all of our shortcomings as a nation exposed by the Korean war, cultural critics went all Freud on us and blamed all our problems on cultural emasculation caused by over mothering. In short: empowered women make weak babies!

This theme can be seen over and over again in the popular sci-fi films of the day. The overbearing mother turns her son into a commie. The female dominated mutant ant colony or aliens from outer space nearly destroy America until the US government blasts the hell out of them.

And it even went beyond the movies (if you can imagine a world beyond motion picture before the interwebz). Pre-Dr. Spock (of The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care fame, not Star Trek) parenting consisted of not holding or kissing your child, feeding them on a strict, regular schedule and ignoring their cries. This was supposed to prepare them to be strong in the harsh world of the future (aka, for military service).

In retrospect, the idea that mothers are evil and turn us all into weak communists is absolutely ludicrous after the age of about 17. Everyone knows that women aren't strong or influential or even real individuals, despite what we tell them to keep them quiet. No, women certainly are not the source of all our problems. So I would like to take this time to nominate household pets, dogs especially, as the root of American weakness. So much unconditioned positive regard can't be good for anyone.