1950s
Amid the unease of the Cold War and the dawning Space Age, the 1950s saw science fiction teeter between the allure of cosmic exploration and the fear of extraterrestrial threats. Alien invasions became a metaphor for Cold War anxieties, while the conquest of space served as an aspirational escape from Earthly problems. It was an era that celebrated scientific curiosity but also issued warnings about its potential to breed monstrosities, both literal and metaphorical.