The Atomic Cafe (1982)

The Atomic Cafe
Directed by Jane Loader, Pierce Rafferty and Kevin Rafferty
1982/US
IMDb page
First viewing/YouTube (free)

Civil defense film: Be sure to include tranquilizers to ease the strain and monotony of life in a fallout shelter. A bottle of 100 should be sufficient for a family of four. Tranquilizers are not a narcotic, and are not habit-forming.

This excellent documentary contrasts the reality of nuclear explosions with the propaganda surrounding the subject in the 1940’s and 1950’s.

The film contains no narration.  It begins with the Trinity atomic bomb test and continues to the devastation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the pop culture embrace of the bomb immediately thereafter in the heady days of victory.  We proceed deep into the Cold War of the McCarthy era and government reassurances about the survivability of the bomb.

This film is surreal in a way that could be appreciated by Salvador Dali.  The insanity around the subject is simply mind-boggling.  We are constantly reminded of the reality of the human cost of the entire enterprise.  It is just amazing what lies people will believe, especially when told to them by the Government.  I’m old enough to remember our teacher telling us that nuclear war could break out the next day during the Cuban Missile Crisis. I thought this was thoroughly fascinating.