Rina Haimson

3/2/19
Blue Group
Cinematic Analysis #3
Part A.
In ​The Manchurian Candidate,​ the main theme is that many people will do anything

possible to get power, even if it means undermining others.

The Manchurian Candidate​ starts out with a look at Robert Shaw, a member of a platoon

leading his group into battle during the Korean war. His squad is promptly captured. Later on,

Shaw receives the medal of honor, and the reason given is that he rescued his squad from certain

doom. It becomes clear that the medal of honor is really for his parents, the Iselins, as his mother

wants his step-father to move up in the political world. His stepfather rails against Communists,

and uses them to further his own career. Months later, Bennett Marco, the platoon leader, is

concerned, as although he remembers Shaw being kind, part of him knows that Shaw was cold

and aloof. Marco begins to have nightmares, having flashbacks to a meeting with Communist

leaders, where he and the men were brainwashed. Shaw is visited by leaders who mention er that

he will be the perfect weapon, as he is conditioned to do whatever someone says after he sees the

queen of diamonds. After an investigation by intelligence officers at the CIA, due to the

recurring nightmares had by many platoon members, Marco tries to break control over Shaw.

Suddenly, Shaw's’ mother reveals her plan. She is a Communist leader, and plans to use Shaw to

kill the presidential candidate, opening the door for her husband to take power. Just in the nick of

time, Marco shows Shaw fifty-two queens of diamonds, breaking control. Instead of killing the

presidential candidate, Shaw kills his mother and step-father. The entire plot, including the

brainwashing, was all in order to gain more power in the American government, and it shows

that Shaw’s mother will do anything possible to be in charge.

Part B.

The Manchurian Candidate ​is set during the Cold War, shortly after the Korean War

ended in 1953. During this time, there was a large amount of paranoia, especially surrounding

the possibility of Communists taking power in the government. The Red Scare caused a massive

amount of political hysteria. As a result, “[e]lected officials from both major parties sought to

portray themselves as staunch anti communists, and few people dared to criticize the

questionable tactics used to persecute suspected radicals” (The Red Scare). Officials began to use

the fear of Communism as a boost to their own campaigns, stating that they were true

Americans, and that they were the only ones who could save the country. They also expressed

that any political opponents, or anyone who critiqued them, were secretly Communists. In the

film, references are made to this, and to Joe McCarthy, one of the main anti-Communists

extremists in the Senate. He “gained increasing popular support for his campaign of accusations

by capitalizing on the fears and frustrations of a country weary of the Korean War” (Joseph

McCarthy), and used this support in order to become a strong political figure. However, his

political support was toppled when it was revealed that he had no strong backing for his ideas.

This idea, of using hysteria to gain power, was one of the main concepts in the movie, and was

employed by the mother in an effort to get her husband to become the president.
Part C.

The film ​The Manchurian Candidate ​was made in 1962, during the very beginning of the

Cold War. It was highly influenced by the political climate at the time, as can be seen by its

allusions to McCarthy in the form of Shaw’s stepfather. McCarthyism was the form of hysteria

that was started by him, and became widespread across the country. McCarthy made a name for

himself, because although “he failed to make a plausible case against anyone, his colourful and

cleverly presented accusations drove some persons out of their jobs and brought popular

condemnation to others” (McCarthyism). ​The Manchurian Candidate​ uses these fears in the film,

in order to show how anyone could come to power, if they played on the hysteria of the people

during the Cold War.

Works Cited

Achter, Paul J. "McCarthyism." ​Encyclopedia Britannica,​ www.britannica.com/.

Accessed 3 Mar. 2019.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Joseph McCarthy." ​Encyclopedia

​Britannica​, www.britannica.com/. Accessed 3 Mar. 2019.

History.com Editors. "Red Scare." ​History​, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com.

Accessed 3 Mar. 2019.