ia_2009_d_maddie

=D. Analysis (500-650 words) Tips]=

Cold War mentalities reflected in “The Clangers” were important during the cold war because an individual was trying to portray the ideas, feelings and thoughts of the public. This is always valuable as the text books tell us the plans, the speeches, the actual events but this is a record and reflection of how people felt about the cold war and events surrounding it. This is still an issue of relevance today because nuclear warfare is still a threat as is growing tensions between countries with different ideas and beliefs. (mention here how many people fear that a new "Cold War" is developing between Russia and the USA, especially with the crisis in Georgia, and the East-West divide is particularly worrisome with Iran's nuclear programme) Oliver Postgate’s and the Public’s view of Space ensured “The Clangers” would contain references to the Space Race and Cold War. In “The Clangers” series one, the amount of references to space is seen mostly through Postgate’s introductions to each episode. For example in the episode, ‘The Visitor’, Postgate’s introduction refers to what kind of world the earth is and the actions of mankind, ‘The trouble is, the people there … are constantly hurling objects into space … satellites, space rockets… Who can say where some of this expensive rubbish may ultimately arrive as it hurtles aimlessly through the universe’ [1] Postgate’s words of ‘expensive rubbish’ and ‘constantly hurling objects into space’ implies that he feels it’s a waste of time and not helping anybody (not even the clangers themselves). References to the space race are constant; in one episode ‘chicken’, Postgate states: ‘and that’s major Clanger, ready to start the countdown’ and ‘That was the best sort of rocket, full of stars, of course they want to let off another one’ 1. The idea that the Clangers themselves are preoccupied with rockets indicates the public’s fascination with them. Another reference to the cold war or the fear of nuclear war can be seen with the Clangers constantly taking cover from various falling objects, Postgate states; ‘take cover, get below quick’ and ‘look out’ 1.

[ok, this is halfway towards being good - I think you need to open with a sharper reference to the fact that in The Clangers, Postgate captures brilliantly how the rocket age was seen as being truly "sublime" in the dictionary sense of the word - that is, people regarded it with a sense of awe and wonder, mixed with dread. THEN, focus on the "wonder" part of things (the excitement of the rockets going up etc, clearly a reference to the Sputnik / Gagarin / Apollo missions), THEN focus on the "dread" references - things falling out of the sky, fears that we need to take cover, which is a hangover of the Hiroshima / Nagasaki events, and which is clearly reflected in other sources like public information films "Duck and Cover" etc and songs like "Electric Funeral" by Black Sabbath - I'm thinking off the top of my head, you get the idea ] In “The Clangers” episodes family life is a reflection of an ordinary family life in reality. Postgate even states himself; ‘I knew that home life was home life wherever it was, even when it was being confused and assaulted by the unlikely’ [2]. Home life can be seen as a reflection of reality and something that could be identified with just like the references to the space race which was a key part of the cold war. On the other hand, there are no definite references to the cold war through the rivalry of the USA and the USSR. In one episode ‘The Rock collector’ a spaceman plants a flag on the Clangers planet with symbols of the US flag and that of the USSR’s [3] indicating a peaceful existence between the two which Postgate and others may have desired but there seems to be no rivalry between any of the Clangers. One episode, ‘Vote for Froglet’ describes democracy and the idea of election but ultimately is Postgate’s response to politics in Britain and not to do with the cold war, even Postgate states the reason for the episode was; ‘I really got frightened, I thought the process of government was completely buggered by inter-party squabbling’ [4]. You've got some great information here but then you basically trash it saying it's irrelevant!!! Don't!!! You can say that a) The USSR-USA flag reference is a great indication of what people WANTED the world to be like at this time; ie ordinary people did not see the USSR as "an enemy" b) The democracy episode was Postgate trying to show how democracy was what brought us all together, and that interparty squabbling was highly dangerous when such important issues as world peace / nuclear holocaust were at stake. “The Clangers” is a programme intended for children which makes it hard to believe that it’s a reflection of cold war mentalities. In fact “The Clangers” reflect what one individual, who had drawn inspiration from the public’s imagination and thoughts, thought about the space race (which ties in evidently with the cold war). Although this was directed at children, there was still an element of something for the adults which is always evident, even today, in some children’s entertainment; ‘for the //Watch with Mother// programmes, for small children and their mums’ [5]. Perhaps the part for the adults was Postgate’s view on space, in particular some of his narration seems that the words used are a little difficult for a child to understand, ‘vast’, ‘serene’, ‘majestically’ and ‘efficiency’ [1]. I'd use this in the first paragraph - to make the point that the programme IS relevant as a historical source, and shouldn't be lightly dismissed as a "children's programme".

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[1] The Clangers, series 1, dvd [2] Oliver Postgate (2000), Seeing Things an autobiography, Sidgwick & Jackson (0 283 06363 7) pg 273 [3] The Very Best of the Clangers (BBC video) [4] http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Oliverpostgateinterview.htm (160808) [5] Oliver Postgate (2000), Seeing Things an autobiography, Sidgwick & Jackson (0 283 06363 7) pg 255