The Cold War, the New World Order, and the War on Terror : U.S. presidents' use of Orwell's big brother myth

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] This dissertation argues a dystopian myth exists in the United States' political consciousness that warns citizens about the fear totalitarianism. Born out of George Orwell's novel 1984, the Big Brother myth is articulated by presenting a totalitarian foe, creating an us vs. them scenario, and depicting a dystopian world into the near distant future. This study examined U.S. Presidents' Inaugural and State of the Union addresses from 1953-2012 and found that presidents used the Big Brother myth to garner support for their policies and initiatives. Cold War presidents used the myth the most but even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the fear of totalitarianism was still used a primary argument during the War on Terror. Specifically, President George W. Bush utilized the myth as a means to garner support for military action against terrorists and the Axis of Evil.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph. D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Communication (MU)

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Missouri--Columbia

Year dc:date.issued

2013

Author dc:creator

• Smith, James Scott

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• McKinney, Mitchell S.
• Warner, Benjamin R.

• George Orwell; Big Brother myth; Cold War; State of the Union addresses; U.S. presidents

Statement dc:rights

• Access to files is limited to the campuses of the University of Missouri with SSO login.

Language dc:language.iso

eng, English

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10355/46119

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:mospace.umsystem.edu:10355/46119