Walter LaFeber provides a general survey of the Cold War in the ninth edition of his America, Russia and the Cold War, 1945-2002. Traditionally painted as a member of the “new left” school of historiography, LaFeber’s interpretation of the Cold War provides a more detailed focus on economics and social issues than would be found in comparable surveys. The first chapters of the book, describing the origins of the Cold War, make this clear. Still a controversial subject to many historians, LaFeber takes the view that the Cold War was largely a product of an American desire to make sure that the post-war market place would be open to the capitalist system.

    Chapter eleven is particularly relevant for its discussion of the period of détente (1966-1976). LaFeber describes détente as a reworking of traditional American containment policy. He is particularly adept at describing the explosive social forces unleashed by growing anxiety over American economic standing and continued involvement in the Vietnam War. President Nixon’s expansion of the conflict—increased bombing of North Vietnam and an invasion of Cambodia—provoked a particularly intense reaction culminating in the death of four students at Kent State in May 1970. The difficult task of governing the United States during this tumultuous period was made worse by President Nixon’s paranoid and imperious leadership style. He sought to prevent information from leaking to the media and sought to single-handedly control American foreign policy.

    LaFeber’s text describes the larger historical context necessary to fully appreciate and understand THX 1138. The film exhibits an acute, if implicit, uneasiness with contemporary political developments. In fact, several lines of dialogue in the movie are taken straight out of speeches given by President Nixon. If films provide a rough window into the collective mindset of the periods in which they are created, this book helps the researcher understand how that mindset was created and why.

    David Seed’s American Science Fiction and the Cold War reviews the major cinematic and literary works of science fiction from the end of the 1940s to the late 1980s. The book begins with a particularly captivating introduction focusing on the work of French philosopher Jacques Derrida. Seed first brings attention to a school of post-structural analysis called “Nuclear Criticism.” Members of this school, including Derrida, argued that nuclear conflict can only be a signified referent of a discourse or text because the real referent has never occurred. Using this as a foundation, Seed makes the argument that the status of science fiction literature is raised—“if nuclear war can only be approached speculatively then [the literature] can occupy a space equal to sociological, strategic and other modes of speculation” (4). This adds a layer of depth to any study of Cold War science fiction film and makes it easy to argue why that study is relevant.

    The introduction also provides a useful description of the way in which science fiction literature during the Cold War was used as a vehicle for social criticism. Literature and film of the time often insightfully illustrated the power of secrecy and its use as a mechanism of social control. Chapter 5, focusing on “Cultures of surveillance” elaborates on this theme. A thorough discussion of iconic science fiction dystopias—1984, Brave New World, and Player Piano—provides examples of Cold War writers criticizing the development of the national security state during the conflict. Once again, Seed helpfully sketches out links between this literature and contemporary philosophical developments. In this case, Seed points out that these “cultures of surveillance” are akin to the “panopticism” elucidated in Michel Foucault’s Discipline and Punish. Chapter 10 provides a further extension by looking at how this surveillance gave rise to the “conspiracy narrative.” The chapter looks at the work of Philip K. Dick in detail. While THX 1138 goes unmentioned, the larger arguments of Seed’s work are certainly relevant to a study that seeks to position Lucas’s film in the dystopian tradition.