cused by critics of potentially provoking a new Cold
War-style arms race.
Further Reading
Guertner, Gary L., and Donald M. Snow.The Last
Frontier: An Analysis of the Strategic Defense Initiative.
Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books, 1986. Exami-
nation of the scientific and political ramifications
of the project.
Linenthal, Edward.Symbolic Defense: The Cultural Sig-
nificance of the Strategic Defense Initiative. Urbana:
University of Illinois Press, 1989. Discussion of
how America and the rest of the world perceived
SDI and reacted to the project’s expectations and
implications.
Reiss, Edward.The Strategic Defense Initiative. Cam-
bridge, England: Cambridge University Press,
- Well-documented history of SDI and its im-
pact, with analysis of subsequent projects beyond
the 1980’s.
Steven J. Ramold
See also Cold War; Foreign policy of the United
States; Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF)
Treaty; Military spending; Reagan, Ronald; Reagan
Doctrine; Soviet Union and North America; Wein-
berger, Caspar.
Streep, Meryl
Identification American actor
Born June 22, 1949; Summit, New Jersey
By the mid-1980’s, Streep had become the most admired film
actor of her generation.
Building on a broad general education; expert train-
ing in theater at Vassar, Darmouth, and the Yale
Drama School; and commercial work that ranged
from Off-Broadway to Broadway to made-for-televi-
sion movies, Meryl Streep entered film acting in the
late 1970’s. She immediately made her presence
known, most memorably as a young working-class
woman loved by two friends inThe Deer Hunter(1978).
Soon after, Streep advanced to leading roles and be-
came recognized for her meticulous preparation
and her ability to handle a wide range of accents and
behaviors. Although adept at musical performance
and comedy, Streep was celebrated in the 1980’s for
her success in a string of powerful dramatic roles,
usually playing strong-willed women. Off screen,
Streep was an active proponent of women’s rights
and equity within the Screen Actors Guild.
In 1981, Streep appeared in the dual roles in
the aggressively self-reflexiveThe French Lieutenant’s
Woman, portraying the nineteenth century title char-
acter as well as the contemporary actor who plays the
part in a film version of the novel. For both the film’s
characters, independence becomes a central issue.
This theme of independence would resonate across
Streep’s film roles and in many of her interviews and
published statements. She played a factory worker
who finds the strength to confront corrupt pluto-
nium-plant owners in the biopicSilkwood(1983), ad-
venturesome writer Isak Dinesen inOut of Africa
(1985), and a former French Resistance patriot un-
willing to be satisfied with a domesticated British life
inPlenty(1985). InHeartburn(1986), Streep por-
trayed an embittered betrayed wife and writer. InAThe Eighties in America Streep, Meryl 925
At the April 14, 1980, Academy Awards ceremony, Meryl Streep
holds her Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, awarded for her work
inKramer vs. Kramer.(AP/Wide World Photos)