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Since the dawn of the atomic age there have been an immense number of films about nuclear issues which run the gamut from the deeply depressing and terrifying to the patently absurd. The documentaries alone number 47 according to a Wikipedia list, but even that may not be a comprehensive list. However, one of the best known films in this category is The Atomic Cafe (1982). As one of the longer documentaries it runs for 86 minutes and is among the most significant cultural artifacts of mid-20th century American media. I eagerly bought a copy years ago when I first found out it was available on dvd.
The Atomic Cafe contains clips of tv news stories, vintage theatrical news reels, military training films, government propaganda, and other archival footage documenting the development of atomic weapons. While it documents how the atomic/nuclear age affected popular culture of that time, The Atomic Cafe oddly seems to normalize this anxiety-ridden, volatile new epoch in world history with a matter-of-fact tone as something that has to accepted as a new reality or what we commonly refer to these days as the “new normal”.
Some of these films (usually short subjects of fifteen minutes or less) are blatant propaganda pieces of the most ridiculous variety such as Duck & Cover (1952). This one runs for 9:11 minutes and begins with a cartoon sequence of a turtle who disappears into his shell when a monkey dangling out of a tree tries to blow up “Bert” the turtle with a firecracker attached to the stick. Instead, the monkey blows up himself and the tree . This silliness leads into live footage of schoolchildren in class as the narrator instructs them to drop to the floor, duck underneath their classroom desks or tables with faces to the floor after they see the atomic bomb flash.
While that might work for those miles away from the initial attack, it means nothing for the millions who would be instantly vaporized by the intense heat and roiling fires in the blast zone. After all, besides military bases, nuclear missiles are pointed primarily at large urban centers where most schools are located— not out in the boondocks with small populations and nothing strategic to attack. It seems to me that it would be much better to die instantly in the blast rather than suffer a hideous death from radiation poisoning later… but I digress. Anyways, this whole “duck and cover” thing originated with the Civil Defense drills to prepare Americans of all ages to try and save themselves if atomic war broke out and allay their fears of annihilation.
It’s pitiful that Duck & Cover was made with students from schools in the New York City area. It should have been plainly apparent that large cities like New York are the first places to be wiped out in an atomic Holocaust and any schools around would be obliterated in an instant. Nevertheless, the cheery, optimistic tone and cutesy music in the film might have offered some comfort to elementary school kids. After all, there is no way that young children could ever truly conceive the magnitude of what an atomic attack would mean for them.
We can only speculate on how many children of this era were affected by fears of imminent nuclear catastrophe. For some, the issue may have been so big and inscrutable for many children that the fear of it may have disappeared entirely. Others might have suffered through regular anxiety issues of possibly having their lives wiped out at such young ages. Adults always tell children that they’re supposed to have an entire life of goals and futures to plan for…or not, if Cold War tensions spun completely out of control – as almost happened in October, 1962 which I’ve discussed previously.
The more I think about this issue, it’s no wonder that many elementary and middle school children of the late 1940s and 1950s became the college revolutionaries and hippies of the 1960s. It’s not too difficult to see how many of this generation became so distrustful, disillusioned, and disdainful of our government for putting them (and by extension all of us!) into this precarious position. Also, the political and social upheavals that arose in the wake of the nuclear arms race were not unique to the United States. The youth of many Western European nations experienced similar turbulence directly related to the arms buildup. It’s likely similar reactions would have occurred in Soviet Russia and its Eastern European allies if those regimes hadn’t been so repressive to start with.
Along with The Atomic Cafe, the compilation dvd Atomic Age Classics also contains valuable cultural insights into this mid-20th century era of total annihilation which was never before possible in human history. Of the six documentaries contained here, The Atom Strikes! (1945) records detailed accounts from engineers, army personnel, and others of the devastation wrought by the atomic bombs dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August, 1945. It’s important to keep in mind that each city had only one bomb dropped over them, but the death and destruction documented in The Atom Strikes! is staggering to behold in all its black & white grittiness.
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It makes me shudder to think of how much worse a nuclear attack over any city would be now with weapons much more powerful than those used in 1945. As it was then, the narrator vividly describes and shows the damage that still occurred in Hiroshima up to six miles away from ground zero although only one bomb was detonated! Another segment called Living With The Atom (1957) addressed the moral issues of humans using “godlike” powers and was informative about atomic theory and how this technology was developed in the first place. The next “public service” documentary tried to allay fears of this stupendous power in Radioactive Fallout & Shelter (1965).
If anything, it probably increased public anxieties about the atomic era and was a lame attempt to keep the public docile while the military-industrial complex continued this arms buildup unimpeded. This comes as no surprise as matters are much the same today — nothing ever really changes. The next episode on Atomic Age Classics is Fallout: When & How To Protect Yourself (1959). This fourteen minute animated film focuses on the radioactive fallout that would result from nuclear war. With his flat monotone the narrator drones on about what actions to take if you’ve survived because of being far enough away from the initial blast site. The film talks about what buildings and locations are the safest from radioactive dust and dirt carried by high winds.
It also talks about hiding in storm cellars, managing food, water, and other supplies in the aftermath of such an inconceivable war. However, it does nothing to address the nuclear winter that would result when the sun is completely blotted out from thousands of missiles being exploded, destroying Earth’s atmosphere. It offers no advice on what to do once emergency supplies of food, water, and medical supplies are depleted or how some semblance of civilization might still continue. The last story in Atomic Age Classics is The Atom Goes To Sea (1954) and is primarily about the development of nuclear powered submarines and more peaceful uses of atomic energy. In any case, all of the above are worth watching for anyone interested in this chilling era of our history.
Since this post turned out longer than I expected, later this month the next post will discuss dystopian feature film dramas that have become an indelible part of popular culture.
