In our look at science fiction films of
1950 and 1951, we saw reflected in them the anxieties of the time fuelled by
the US and Soviet development of nuclear weapons, the testing of incredibly
destructive hydrogen weapons, and the developing Cold War. We also saw through
these movies a fascination with rocketry and space exploration where we made
tentative footprints on the moon and Mars and even burrowed into the Earth
itself. And there were the visitors to our world who came here with various
motives from wagging a warning finger at us for our destructive impulses
through to wanting to harvest us for nutritional purposes and even possibly
invading our planet.
By 1952, daily life
was beginning to change for many people in the Western world. Television, once
a staple of science fiction, was in millions of American homes.
The skylines of
cities were beginning to be punctuated with skyscrapers such as New York’s
Lever House.
The Comet, the world’s first
passenger jet, heralded the start of
faster and cheaper air travel and brought far-flung places on the globe just
that little bit closer.
Prosperity for many had arrived with average worker
earnings being $3,400 per year, 3 out of 5 families owning a car and 2 out of 3
families possessing a telephone.
Women in America would on average be married
by 20 years of age but would be unlikely to pursue a career after having
children.
By 1952, it seems that the future had begun to arrive. What was once
science fiction was rapidly becoming science fact.
Major Events Of 1952
Major World Events & Personalities
- Harry S. Truman was U.S. President throughout most of the year.
- On Nov. 4, Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected 34th President of the U.S.
- King George VI of England died and his daughter Elizabeth was proclaimed Queen of England. In 2013 she is still queen of England!
- War-time leader, Winston Churchill was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
- The dictator, Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union, but not for much longer
- In Egypt, a military coup overthrew King Farouk
- Pius XII was Pope
- Evita Peron, wife of Argentine President Juan Peron, died
- The Korean War continues on.
- The Mau Mau rebellion began in Kenya
- Greece and Turkey joined NATO.
In Washington, D.C., Senator Joseph McCarthy, continued his campaign to expose communists in government and throughout society. "McCarthyism,” in the form of a wave of anti-communist paranoia swept the country with devastating effects on many people’s lives, reputations and careers.
Science & Technology
- The hydrogen bomb was detonated for the first time
- The polio vaccine was developed
- Transistors were first produced commercially by the American company Raytheon
Strange Phenomena
- Reports were made of UFOs flying over Washington, D.C. for six hours
- A small town in Green Bay Wisconsin was invaded by 175,000,000 Leopard Frogs over two days. (Hope our cane toads in Australia don’t get any ideas!)
- A thick fog (smog) engulfed London for 5 days and killed approximately 12,000 people. The environmental movement had begun
Unearthing the Past
The Tomb of the Mayan King Pakal (683 A.D.) was opened in 1952. The tomb was designed as a Mayan clock to mark the return of the new King. It has been claimed that each glyph belongs to a three year period depicting the years from 1952 until 2012. (With so-called Mayan prophecies & calendars, 2012 was a nervous year for many, but a boon to end of the world book and film producers and distributors! 2013 and we’re still here!)
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