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10 - Fascism in American Culture

How Alternate a History?

from Part IV - Countering Fascism in Culture and Policy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 September 2023

Gavriel D. Rosenfeld
Affiliation:
Center for Jewish History, New York and Fairfield University, Connecticut
Janet Ward
Affiliation:
University of Oklahoma
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Summary

Whether or not the USA has its own fascist tradition is not merely a political but also a cultural question. This chapter examines America’s fascist potential by exploring how it has been depicted in popular alternate history television shows, including The Man in the High Castle (2015–2019), The Plot Against America (2020), Hunters (2019–2023), and Watchmen (2019). Echoing older fears of domestic fascism in American history, the four shows reflect growing concerns about America’s political future in the Trump era, and arrive at a common set of conclusions: they insist that fascism poses a serious threat to the United States; they pessimistically depict Americans passively accepting, or actively collaborating with, fascist rule; they urgently advise the targets of fascism – Jews, African Americans, and other minorities – to combine forces in combating it; and they explore the vexing question of whether using violence against fascism is ethically permitted or is itself “fascist.” These alternate histories show how universalizing the fascist past can foster a sense of political solidarity among groups threatened by fascism in the present.

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Chapter
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Fascism in America
Past and Present
, pp. 313 - 351
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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