Nuclear War and Its Consequences on Television News

Abstract

Because the threat of nuclear war is potentially too politically divisive and too frightening to the audience to be “newsworthy,” television may be a “silent, willing partner of government in keeping nuclear issues below the threshold of national consciousness.”

Nuclear weapons and communication studies: A review essay

“…There is, for example, a body of media criticism that focuses on the complicity of media industries and program genres (such as television news and docudramas, and Hollywood film) in naturalizing nuclear weapons for postwar audiences by shaping the cultural experience of science and technology, history, organizational politics, and international conflict (Jowett, 1988;Rubin, 1989;Taylor, 1993b;Wise, 1997, pp. 85-112).…”

"Our Bruised Arms Hung Up as Monuments": Nuclear Iconography in Post-Cold War Culture

“…Within the past fifteen years, a number of scholarly works have appeared that examine nuclear representation in a variety of visual media and genres, including public art (Farrell, 1990), television news (Rubin, 1989), cinema (Evans, 1998), and photography (Creative Camera, 1995). While these works are diverse, they collectively develop five foundational claims for a nuclearcritical iconology, one sensitive to the productivity of images in manufacturing and disrupting popular consent to the development of nuclear weapons during the Cold War era.…”

“SURVIVAL IS YOUR BUSINESS”: Engineering Ruins and Affect in Nuclear America

“…Watched by half of the adult population in the United States, The Day After (directed by Nicholas Meyer) was a major cultural event, one that refocused public attention on the effects of radiation, mass casualties, and life without a functioning state. Presented as a “realistic” account, the blast and radiation effects depicted in the film were supported by statements from health experts and transformed into a moment of national dialogue about the physical and biological effects of nuclear war (Rubin and Cummings 1989). Immediately following the broadcast, the ABC network presented a roundtable discussion of the film and the current state of nuclear emergency.…”