Movie #4: A New Los Angeles
This next chapter begins as World War II ends. WWII can be credited with “saving” the United State’s failing economic situation from the great Depression, and this was visible in Southern California, more specifically the Los Angeles area. LA was the airplane center of the US, and because WWII used thousands upon thousands of plane, the region was making airplanes, money, and jobs. But, this all became unstable when the US won the war: “On the day Japan surrendered, North American Aviation had 90,000 employees and 8,000 aircraft on back-order. Within three months the orders had been cut to 24 planes. By 1946, the work force had been cut to 5,000” (Ethington, Space Station Los Angeles: From Peenemünde to Disneyland to Mars). This movie will follow the narrative of Movie #3’s Mae and Raymond’s son, Joseph. Joseph learned the trade of aviation and airplane building from his family members, and thus is talented in this field. But, upon the close of WWII, Joseph is forced to be dynamic, and switch his focus to satellites and missiles. This business is dangerous and secretive. Joseph’s knowledge becomes crucial to the US government when the Cold War begins in 1947…
“The United States has no alternative but to maintain the cold war for the foreseeable future, Joseph E. Johnson, one of the nation’s top authorities on peace, warned here Tuesday…'the alternatives appears to be a hot war or succumbing eventually to Soviet communism,’he said” (“US…Dr.Johnson, 1961).