Amerika

Miniseries produced in 1987 describing life after the United States is conquered by the Soviet Union (with the aid of a compliant and effective UN.) Starred, among others, Kris Kristofferson as a former Senator turned jailed dissident and Robert Urich as the president of a new puppet republic centered around Chicago, called Heartland. Cold War pop-culture history website CONELRAD states that it "extended the Cold War by four hours".

Tropes used in Amerika include:

• Aesop: The Soviet takeover is much easier than they expected because Americans were unwilling to fight for their freedom.

"You had political freedom, but you lost your passion ... How could we not win?"

• Cold War: Or rather the way many people were afraid it would end.
• Day of the Jackboot
• Downer Ending
• Dystopia: The series opens with Devin Milford being released from a prison camp and travelling through once-prosperous farmland run down by ten years of collectivisation and Soviet asset-stripping.
• Divided States of Amerika: The Soviet Union plans to do this to the United States in order to prevent a resurgent America from posing a threat. At the end of the series the protagonist Devin Milford is shot by the leader of Heartland's defence force as he's about to make a radio broadcast calling for Americans to resist the breakup; this is viewed as 'treason' against Heartland.
• Invaded States of Amerika: Subverted; the United States gives up without a fight and few think that resistance is worthwhile.
• Iron Curtain: Pushed all the way to the Pacific coast.
• Lzherusskie: Most of the Russian military. One or two of them have names that were even completely made up.
• Minion with an F In Evil: General Petya Samanov -- in charge of administrating (and eventually dismantling) the conquered US -- comes across as one of the most interesting and sympathetic characters.
• Mnogo Nukes: Averted, though in early script drafts nuclear weapons were apparently used to disable the US power grid and communications systems through massive electromagnetic pulse.
  • The Politburo considers destroying several American cities "to encourage the others", but the local Soviet administration convinces them to go with the Divided States of America plan.
• My God, What Have I Done?: The US Congress is wiped out in a "terrorist attack" in a prelude to the breaking-up of the country. Samanov is Driven to Suicide at the sight.
• One World Order: The UN is now a Soviet puppet organisation, and the Commies are implied to control the entire world, or at least the parts that are useful to them.
• Prop Recycling: The two flyable Blue Thunder props make a reappearance, except now they're Black Helicopters.
• Red Scare
• La Résistance: Several characters, but not always working towards the same goals against the Soviets.
• Sinister Surveillance: After Devin is picked up by his father at the station, a member of the Secret Police notes down the occurrence in his notebook.
• State Sec: The United Nations Special Service Unit carries out periodic "training exercises" -- involving tanks, Black Helicopters, Gas Mask Mooks and Stuff Blowing Up -- designed to intimidate the local population.
• Take That: At least, the concept for the miniseries was inspired by this train of thought. A 1983 column by Ben Stein (yes, that Ben Stein) suggested that since The Day After depicted the horrible what-if scenario of a nuclear attack on America, a movie should be made depicting the also horrible what-if scenario of America being conquered by the U.S.S.R., the threat that had led to the Cold War arms race in the first place.
• Twenty Minutes Into the Future: Takes place in 1997.