[act-ma] Thursday 6/16: "The Atomic Cafe" - Free UPandOUT film screening

[pf soto]

*<http://rule19.org/films-2016/160616-Atomic-Cafe.pdf>**The Atomic Cafe
*

[see clip <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwwTZdQBfO4>]

Showing Thursday, June 16, in Cambridge
[please download & distribute flyer 
<http://rule19.org/films-2016/160616-Atomic-Cafe.pdf>]

One of the defining documentaries of the 20th century, /*The Atomic 
Cafe*/ 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 American 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. Immensely entertaining and devilishly witty.

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.

*Notable quotes, ironical lines:
*[ie, I can't believe they said that/... but  then/ again -
today we have Assassination Tuesdays in the White House (who to kill 
next), and overt talk about bombing one country after another to 
smithereens]

"/When not close enough to be killed, the atomic bomb is one of the most 
beautiful sights in the world./" ~ US Army (dis-)information 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./" ~ US civil defense film

/“"[I] let the bomb go
 that was my greatest thrill./”"
~American military captain on what he felt was the most “outstanding 
moment” of the bomb-dropping operation on Nagasaki

"... “/
that everything being in God’s hands
 it cannot be other than 
good.”"/
~American military official explaining to the natives the reason behind 
their evacuation

“/"The bomb will not start a chain reaction in the water, converting it 
all to gas,
 letting all the ships on all the oceans drop down to the 
bottom;
 it will not blow out the bottom of the sea and let all the 
water run down the hole;
 it will not destroy gravity. I am not an 
atomic playboy, as one of my critics labeled me
 exploding these bombs 
to satisfy my personal whim./”" ~Vice Admiral W.H.P. Blandy, Commander 
of the Bikini Test

/“"the Russians will try(sic) it anyhow
, and should they learn the 
secret of its manufacture before we do,
 the life and security of all 
freedom-loving people will be in danger./” /That the United States of 
America should not necessarily use this bomb, but rather look upon it as 
a peaceful guardian and protector of the basic American doctrines of 
liberty and democracy
 against the obstacles of Red Fascisms,
 
materialistic and atheistic philosophy./” "
~Civilians interviewed on whether or not America should build a hydrogen 
bomb

/"“
all in all I’d say we’'ve been very lucky around here
 nothing to do 
now but wait for orders from the authorities and relax
/”"
~Father figure in American drama at the ending scene

*Examples - Irony between sound and images:*

Lewis L. Strauss, Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, mentioned that 
“"/the 236 natives appear to me to be well and happy” and that the 
medical staff have reported that no illnesses or diseases will 
follow//after the nuclear fallout descended on some 20,000 natives due 
to reckless predictions on wind direction affecting the Castle-Bravo 
Test/." His report was juxtaposed on images of the natives with obvious 
nuclear burnt marks on their skin and some with their hair dropping off.

The footage of Richard Nixon addressing the issue of nuclear weapons 
being implemented into the nation’s artillery, is immediately followed 
by him ringing a big bell to signal the opening of “'Mental Health 
Week'” joyously, whereby he is said to have commented that the 
"“/ringing of the bell throughout the nation will be a reminder of 
suffering Americans./”"


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*When/where*
doors open 6:40; film starts promptly 7pm
243 Broadway, Cambridge - corner of Broadway and Windsor,
entrance on Windsor
rule19.org/videos <http://rule19.org/videos>

Please join us for a stimulating night out; bring your friends!
*free film & free door prizes
****[donations are encouraged]
*feel free to bring your own snacks and soft drinks - no alcohol allowed

"/You can't legislate good will - that comes through education/." ~ 
Malcolm X

*UPandOUT film series* - see rule19.org/videos <http://rule19.org/videos>

Why should YOU care? It's YOUR money that pays for US/Israeli wars - on 
Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Palestine, Libya. Syria, Iran, So America, etc 
etc - for billionaire bailouts, for ever more ubiquitous US prisons, for 
the loss of liberty and civil rights...

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