The Atomic Cafe

Locations
Call Number: DVD 363.35 At
On Shelf At: Downtown Library

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 1st Floor 1-week checkout	DVD 363.35 At	1-week checkout	On Shelf

Title appears as: The Archives Project presents The atomic cafe.
Originally released in 1982.
"A compilation of archival film clips beginning with the first atomic bomb detonation in the New Mexico desert. The footage, much of it produced as government propaganda, follows the story of the bomb through the two atomic attacks on Japan that ended World War II to the bomb's central role in the cold war. Shown along with the famous 'duck and cover' Civil Defense films are lesser-known clips, many of which possess a bizarre black humor when seen today"--Amazon.com. The footage is accompianied by contemporary music about the nuclear age.
DVD ; Full screen ; Dolby digital, stereo.

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Irony Aplenty submitted by Meginator on June 21, 2017, 7:37pm This is a fantastic documentary constructed from newsreels and propaganda films from the 1950s. The film manages to maintain narrative energy despite relying solely on diagetic audio and a soundtrack comprised of contemporary songs about different aspects of the nuclear age. While I think the description oversells the humor a bit, the film has irony aplenty and several juxtapositions that highlight what are, in retrospect, some of the more humorous aspects of 1950s Cold War culture. The message, however, is serious, even as the filmmakers leave their audience to draw their own conclusions. This documentary works on several levels and is a valuable, deliberately curated collection of archival footage from the beginning stages of the nuclear era.