One of the defining documentaries of the 20th century, THE ATOMIC CAFE (1982) offers a darkly humorous glimpse into mid-century America, an era rife with paranoia, anxiety, and misapprehension. Whimsical and yet razor-sharp, this timeless classic illuminates the often comic paradoxes of life in the "Atomic Age," while also exhibiting a genuine nostalgia for an earlier and more innocent nation. Narrated through an astonishing array of vintage clips and music--from military training films to campy advertisements, presidential speeches to pop songs--the film revolves around the threat--and thrill--of the newly minted atomic bomb. Taking aim at the propaganda and false optimism of the 1950s, the film's satire shines most vividly in the clever image splicing, such as footage of a decimated Hiroshima alongside cheerful suburban "duck-and-cover" routines. More than anything else, THE ATOMIC CAFE shows how nuclear warfare infiltrated the living rooms of America, changing the nation from the inside out. Immensely entertaining and devilishly witty, THE ATOMIC CAFE serves up a revealing slice of American history: the legendary decade when we learned to live in a nuclear world.

Cold war nuclear warfare attacks paranoia propaganda atomic bomb radiation duck and cover Burt the turtle Hiroshima Nagasaki black humor dark comedy documentary 1940s 1950s newsreel archival film military training disarmament cult classic nuclear Reefer Madness bomb shelters New Video Digital

A remix of "Bert the Turtle" and other remnants of the atomic age and the cold war.

Bert Burt the turtle music video satire humor 1950s James Kipp rock electronic atomic nuclear bomb remix political animation short film spoof cold war warfare attacks paranoia propaganda radiation duck and cover Hiroshima Nagasaki black dark comedy documentary 1940s newsreel archival military training disarmament cult classic Reefer Madness shelters Dr. Strangelove animation art Sound Idea