1940s Science

Fiction

By Avery, Courtney,
Madeline, and CJ

Historical Information
The Attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 was a surprise attack by the
Japanese navy. This attack led the U.S. entry in WWII
On August 6, 1945, the U.S. used an atomic weapon against
Hiroshima, Japan.The bomb flattened the city, killing thousands of
people. While japan was trying to recover, the U.S. struck againbut this time on Nagasaki.

Key characteristics of science fiction during the

1940s
Sci-fi changed from juvenile fantasies to more thoughtful stories
More believable technological devices appeared
Women began to play key roles in the stories
The red scare had an impact on science fiction
Fear also impacted science fiction

Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed by Ray bradbury was published in a magazine- this
short story was about a family who moved to mars because of the atomic war that was
happening on earth. this relates to the 1940s themes because not only was it fear of
the atomic war that caused them to leave earth, but they also had the technology to
live on mars
Originally from Boston, they have moved to Mars via rocket in order to avoid the
anticipated destruction from the war that is being waged on Earth. Cora reminds Harry
of just that when he wants to return to Earth immediately after stepping off of the
rocket when she says, "One day the atom bomb will fix Earth. Then we'll be safe here."
While they were all skeptically optimistic about their new life on Mars, they took
comfort in the fact that they could buy a return rocket ticket home at any time. -

summary of Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed

Comics were big in the

1940s
Comic publishers at
the
time: Marvel, DC,
Quality Comics,
National Periodical
Publications, Timely
Comics

-Had a lot of comics

about war
-Had a lot about
superheroes

Movies
Famous monsters from the
era:
-Frankenstein
-The Invisible Man/Woman
-Aliens (Martians)
-Wolfman
-Sequels and crossover
movies were exceedingly
popular