Quote:
Originally Posted by queequeger
SNIP
I think, in fact, that the 90s were the only decade in recent memory where there WASN'T a vast faceless enemy trying to destroy us... mostly because there was no group that could be made into it.
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Did you notice that in the 1990s there was a spate of movies on the theme of hostile Aliens attacking the Earth, and being repelled (mostly) by the US? Eg. Independence Day and Battlefield Earth. With no Earthly foe, Hollywood had to look upwards.
Meanwhile, their was a spike in nutty conspiracy theorists worried that the UN was going to attempt to take over the USA (and that civilian militias with assault rifles were gonna stop 'em!).
Some part of the American collective psyche has a strong urge to play the role of Defender of the Home Against the Foreign Foe. Partly it is economic - stimulating the arms industry. But I think it is mostly psychological. Through the history of the 20th century and a tide of movies with this theme, this is where a good many Americans see themselves. Take away the foreign foe ... and they suddenly don't have a place to be, a role to fill.
(emphasis: this is not true of
all Americans. Just some, but they're enough to be influential.)
Also those comedians WERE the Chaser team, who did the stunt at the APEC meeting. And while I presume they had to interview hundreds of people to get those comments that went to air, and so those views are probably a tiny minority, nevertheless they still got those replies from
some people. Strange how something can be funny and still very, very scary.