Osa Archivum Catalog

The Atomic Café

Summary: As a history film, Atomic Café takes us to experience three levels of time. The first is the internal time, the Cold War, communism versus the free world, when propaganda about the atomic bomb was made to persuade the people that only nuclear weapons would protect them from the "Evil Empire". The period of the'Nuclear Free' movement comes next. And thirdly, the present time, when the world is changed but has to face the same irony that still is just as relevant today, the fear of weapons of mass destruction. "The Atomic Cafe" is an example of Eisenstein's notion of montage on the macro level. this film achieves it rhetorical potency simply by editing together old film and documentaries from the 1940's and 1950's. By putting a cartoon of Tommy the Turtle teaching school children to "Duck and cover" next to film of actual atomic bomb tests, "The Atomic Cafe" renders the Cold War both ludicrous and chilling at the same time. It is all about editing raw material and splicing segments of military training films, civil defense films, archive footage, interviews, newsreel material, and fifties music. Without narration and by using a few choice songs to accompany some of the clips, this documentary finds a surprising strong voice against the insanity of nuclear destruction. Generally speaking, Atomic Café gives us an historical perspective for reconsidering the effect of the issues of war, nuclear warfare and weapons of mass destruction.

Item Type	Current Location	Call Number	Status	Shelving Location	Public Note
VHS	OSA Film Library	FL Record 0970	Available	-	-