Growing up in the 80s for many of us meant a constant awareness and fear of nuclear war, along with everything that would follow. We explore the media of the decade and how it reflected these fears, with a focus on The Day After (US, 1983) and Threads (UK, 1984) - TV movies with a big message.
Below, enjoy the edited and higher quality audio recording along with the slides we showed, or if you prefer- the live YouTube video.
References
The Day After (2-Disc Special Edition) https://www.amazon.com/Day-After-2-Disc-Special/dp/B07BXWY51T/
Threads BBC Blu Ray https://www.amazon.com/Threads-Blu-ray-BBC-DVD/dp/B07JZVP6KX/
Before Putin and the war in Ukraine, 1980s movies terrorized us with nuclear war, by Michael Green for digitaltrends, 15-Oct-2022 https://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/putin-history-of-nuclear-war-movies/
Protect & Survive - 1970's UK Public Infomercial On Nuclear War Preparation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6U9T3R3EQg
Emergency Alert System (UK) - 1980s Nuclear Attack Warning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhgJG__IkyY
The cold war terrors are back, baby, and generation X finally has something to offer the young, by Van Badham, Wed 9 Mar 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/mar/10/the-cold-war-terrors-are-back-baby-and-generation-x-finally-has-something-to-offer-the-young
Fear of nuclear annihilation scarred children growing up in the Cold War, studies later showed: “What do you want to be if you grow up?”, by Stephanie Buck, Aug 29, 2017, https://timeline.com/nuclear-war-child-psychology-d1ff491b5fe0
When Mr. Rogers Taught Kids About Mutually Assured Nuclear Destruction, By Jake Rossen, Dec 20, 2018, https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/562320/when-mr-rogers-taught-kids-about-nuclear-destruction
Link to Mr. Rogers Conflict series (first 5 episodes in the list): https://archive.org/details/ipoy143season14/
The Big Snit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKmAPh46JXk
Estimating Deaths in a Nuclear War, Neil Halloran, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIAF7kBbGKk