Kiss Me Deadly: Communism, Motherhood, and Cold War Movies Author(s): Michael Rogin Source: Representations, No. 6 (Spring, 1984), pp. 1-36 Published by: University of California Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2928536 Accessed: 04-03-2015 22:18 UTC Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
[email protected]. University of California Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Representations. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 169.234.53.127 on Wed, 04 Mar 2015 22:18:06 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions MICHAEL ROGIN Kiss Me Deadly: Communism,Motherhood, and Cold War Movies* I THE HISTORY of demonologyin Americanpolitics comprises three major moments.The firstis racial. "Historybegins for us withmurder and enslavement,not with discovery," wrote William Carlos Williams.' He wascalling attentionto thehistorical origins of theUnited States in violenceagainst peoples of color.The expropriationof Indianland and exploitationof blacklabor lie at theroot not only of America's economic development, but of its political conflicts and culturalidentity as well.A distinctiveAmerican political tradition, fearful of primitivism,disorder, and conspiracy,developed in responseto peoplesof color. That traditiondraws its energy from alien threatsto the Americanway of life, and sanctionsviolent and exclusionaryresponses to them.2 Classand ethnicconflict define the second demonological moment.