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Victory Culture in the Post World War II Era

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Everything from The Lone Ranger television show to any John Ford Western, a vital myth arose from the ashes of World War II, victory culture. Victory culture infiltrated every part of American culture and indoctrinated Americans with the treasured belief that triumph over inferior enemy was an American birthright and point of pride and destiny. Victory culture focuses on the time between the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor until the fail of Saigon in 1975. As defined by writer Tom Englehardt’s book The End of Victory Culture, this culture portrayed Euro-Americans as the minority fighting swarms of savages. Therefore, the slaughter and colonization of Native Americans was seen as “a form of reassurance and entertainment: and audiences almost invariably cheered, or were cheered; by what they read, heard or saw”.

For victory culture, the Japanese sneak attack at Pearl Harbor was no different than the menacing Indians attacking a stagecoach. Victory culture made Westerns the most popular film and television genre. The Lone Ranger which aired from 1949 to 1957 produced protrayed Native Americans as a codependent and pronoun challenged sidekick. John Ford, a Hollywood directoral powerhouse, protrayed Native peoples as motivated purely by menance. Each charachture of Native peoples reinforced the idea that Euro-Americans were righteous of "winning the West."

Victory culture invaded every chasm of popular culture post World War II. This website will showcase how victory culture was an intergral part of how society intereputed Native peoples, women, race and nationalistic attitudes. 

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