Cold War Imagology: «Their» and «Strangers» in the Popular Culture of the 1980s

The Cold War period of the second half of the 20th century coincided with the era of rapid development of mass communications, which, in turn, contributed to a significant expansion of the possibilities of indirect information impact on the public consciousness and subconscious of the population of states involved in the international confrontation personified by this term. Its essence was a complex complex of political, ideological, economic and local military confrontation between the two blocs, led by the USA and the USSR. These events were reflected in memorable images of mass culture, which were used not only for information pressure on the enemy, but also to ensure their own moral rear. The historical experience of the rivalry between the two superpowers in the media space of the 1980s, the most vivid artistic images of which are firmly entrenched in historical memory and are well known to modern people, is of particular relevance for a better understanding of the humanitarian aspects of information security and reflection in modern conditions. A special role here is played by historical imagology, which allows you to explore the specifics of mass mutual perception and stereotypical ideas of conflicting parties about each other in conditions of acute international tension. Taking into account the above, the practical significance of the events of the Cold War of the 1980s is due to the formation of such images and stereotypes, fragments of which, thanks to «mass culture», turned into one of the attributes of modern show business, mass media and virtual reality of video games with their effect of artificially induced «documentary», seriously affecting the historical memory and social subconscious of modern society.