Comments on: Fear and fascination in 1950s America: In the shadow of the Atomic bomb with Chesley Bonestell http://designresearchgroup.wordpress.com/2007/09/11/fear-and-fascination-in-1950s-america-in-the-shadow-of-the-atomic-bomb-with-chesley-bonestell/ Design, Representation, Society Sun, 01 Mar 2009 08:58:29 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Ciarán Swan http://designresearchgroup.wordpress.com/2007/09/11/fear-and-fascination-in-1950s-america-in-the-shadow-of-the-atomic-bomb-with-chesley-bonestell/#comment-1918 Wed, 02 Jan 2008 21:49:34 +0000 http://designresearchgroup.wordpress.com/2007/09/11/fear-and-fascination-in-1950s-america-in-the-shadow-of-the-atomic-bomb-with-chesley-bonestell/#comment-1918 neujack, that’s an interesting point you make. 9/11 is the start, or perhaps the restart, of something. I think you’re right that the paranoid element is really clear… perhaps because broadly the societies we live in have something to be paranoid about. The zombie genre is interesting. I Am Legend is just the latest version and because it can, as you say, be dressed up in ‘scientific’ paraphernalia that gives it even more weight…

]]> By: neujack http://designresearchgroup.wordpress.com/2007/09/11/fear-and-fascination-in-1950s-america-in-the-shadow-of-the-atomic-bomb-with-chesley-bonestell/#comment-1917 Wed, 02 Jan 2008 20:08:54 +0000 http://designresearchgroup.wordpress.com/2007/09/11/fear-and-fascination-in-1950s-america-in-the-shadow-of-the-atomic-bomb-with-chesley-bonestell/#comment-1917 What a darkly beautiful selection of images. You guys have good taste and a good library, I must say.

I would add that part of the reason why we haven’t seen much in the way of new apocalyptic visions is because we’re right on the cusp of these images being generated now. The genre has only really resurfaced a couple of years ago (as you surmised correctly in relation to the 9-11 aftermath) and is growing fast. Over time we’ll see artists stumble upon the right archetypes, and a visual shorthand will appear, just as the old “Paranoid 50′s” developed their own Atomic visual lexicon over time (examples would include the mushroom cloud itself, the giant man-eating natural creatures, the misshapen radioactive mutant, etc.).

We’ve already seen a few archetypes strike a chord like never before. The zombie, for example. The walking dead have left the animating hands of the witch doctor for those of the biological weapons manufacturer. In time we’ll see more.

]]> By: Idetrorce http://designresearchgroup.wordpress.com/2007/09/11/fear-and-fascination-in-1950s-america-in-the-shadow-of-the-atomic-bomb-with-chesley-bonestell/#comment-1848 Sun, 16 Dec 2007 05:39:08 +0000 http://designresearchgroup.wordpress.com/2007/09/11/fear-and-fascination-in-1950s-america-in-the-shadow-of-the-atomic-bomb-with-chesley-bonestell/#comment-1848 very interesting, but I don’t agree with you
Idetrorce

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