The Terror Campaign Across Nagasaki And Hiroshima
The terror campaign across Nagasaki and Hiroshima brought an assorted reaction from the people of America of joy, hope, and relief. However, these emotions did not come without a lacing of devastation, fear, and confusion and this complex mixture of emotions has been conveyed through the means of film, literature, fashion as well as other forms of popular arts in a phenomenon that would become known as ‘atomic culture’.
Since the creation of the atom bomb, popular culture contended with its power from the outset, and films such as Godzilla derived from the fallout of atomic technology. With Godzilla being a monster created and thus roused by atomic energy, it was evident atomic technology was understandably exclusively feared by the Japanese. However, dissimilar to Japan, in American popular culture, atomic energy produced more heroes than it did villains with some of the most prevalent superheroes in American culture (Hulk, Spiderman, the Fantastic Four, X-men. Etc) deriving from being exposed in some form to radioactive material.
Atomic technology was initially exhilarating and new-fangled to the people of America. Mid-century designs of clothes and furniture included lustrously colored materials echoing imagery of the atomic bomb. However, the US sanguinity over atomic technology did not coexist without the element of fear. Within days of Hiroshima, Norman Cousins claimed that nuclear weapons permeated 'every aspect of man's activities, from machines to morals, from physics to philosophy, from politics to poetry”. In 1947, Lewis Mumford imagined the 'social Effects of nuclear weapons, portending a Cold War culture in which life was reduced to purely existentialist terms'.
This shift in reaction permeated considerably into US popular culture. This essay will elucidate as to how attitudes towards atomic technology shifted from revolutionary and innovative through the approach of female culture, in particular the creation of the bikini and women’s beauty pageants, to terror and acrimony through the means of a picture, focusing on satirical films such as ‘Dr. Strangelove and propaganda media such as ‘Duck and Cover’.
US atomic culture originated from an almost picturesque standpoint. A US army film from 1950 imparts that “viewed from a safe distance, the atomic bomb is one of the most beautiful sights ever seen by man”. The atom bomb, at its precipice, was the figurehead of US military ascendency, it is what gave America the edge over Japan and ultimately, was the collaborative product of some of the most powerful scientific minds in the US - a scientific phenomenon.
It was not long until this phenomenon was echoing through every news outlet in the country and the US were capitalizing on it, aiming for their most profitable and easily influenced market - women. The Bikini was a quintessential example of how popular culture both reflected aspirations for a prosperous atomic future and profited on the ever-growing popularity of atomic technology.
Fashioned by French designer Louis Réard in July of 1946, a mere weeks after two atomic bomb tests were conducted on Bikini Atoll, the bikini was a two-piece bathing suit made from minimal fabric. Originally, named the “atoms” (French for ‘atom’), the bikini marked a substantial change in US culture, notably similar to the Atom Bomb. “Wearing the garment gave women a feeling of being liberated, strong women, unafraid to hide their bodies, but courageous enough to display it. Much of this can be applied to the feelings of Americans after the end of the Second World War. The United States emerged with new responsibility as one of two global superpowers. Using the atomic bomb both painted a target on the U.S.’s back, making them vulnerable, as well as granting the nation power amongst its peers”.
The correlation between atomic technology and female culture did not stop there. Unsuspectingly, beauty pageants expressed the splendor of the atomic bombs felt by the US population more directly than the bikini did. The earliest pageant to encapsulate atomic culture was the Miss Atomic Blast pageant held in Las Vegas. It consisted of Las Vegas showgirls competing to be crowned the Miss Atomic Blast. A flier for the event promised that the pageant would combine the “glitz and glamour of Las Vegas with the glitz and glamour of the atomic bomb. Yes, explosions do produce a lighting effect, a glamour if you will, but not all bombs were described in such away. Only a weapon exclusive to the United States, one credited with toppling the Japanese, and one capable of intimidating any of the nation’s foreign enemies into submission, would be described in the same way as a Hollywood movie star or fireworks that light up the night sky on the Fourth of July”.
The first winner of the Miss Atomic Blast was Candyce King, and before long, her photo appeared in newspapers across the nation. Her photo was captioned, “radiating loveliness instead of deadly atomic particles…” and she was “as awe-inspiring… as was the ‘Big Bang’.
The creation of garments such as the bikini and the Miss Atom Bomb pageants displayed the intricate link developed between the atom bomb and female culture. Women in emerging fashion trends, arguably like the bikini, were likened to atomic technology as something to be marveled at and gazed at in awe. Not only that, but the fact that America based this marvel of both women and atomic technology to create atomic beauty pageants shows how light-hearted America viewed the bomb - unquestionably not viewing it as something to be feared.
The representation of atomic technology within female popular culture shows that at the emergence of atomic technology, US culture embraced it as the new way of living, giving it connotations of beauty and marvel by attaching it so heavily to women within popular culture.
Whilst, at its precipice, atomic technology was regarded as the nation’s savior, a sense of fear of the unknown was rising within the citizens of America. “The atomic age at first glance was a moment in which humanity had greatly modernized, and this energy would usher in a new era for mankind. At closer inspection, however, critics of the atomic energy issued warnings that the atom could erase all progress humanity had made thus far, sending humanity spiraling back into primitive times”. What was once viewed as America’s greatest protector was now the very thing that could destroy them. America’s attitudes towards the atomic bomb shifted when the dangers of the new technology became more and more apparent. As nuclear warfare permeated through American culture, the US government began to take preventative measures, “schools began issuing dog tags to students so that their families could identify their bodies in the event of an attack. The US government provided instructions for building and equipping bomb shelters in basements or backyards, and some cities constructed municipal shelters. Nuclear bomb drills became a routine part of disaster preparedness”. The threat of atomic fallout became apparent to the masses and this ensured a rampant fear within the American people.
An attempt to quell this mounting fear was through the method of the motion picture. Civil defense films were created by the Federal Civil Defence Administration (FCDA), to inform the public on what they should to in the event of a nuclear attack. As there were more and more nuclear tests occurring, the dangers of radioactive fallout were being better understood and thus more feared by scientists and civilians alike.
To combat this, FCDA created collaborated with Hollywood to produce 15 films on civil defense – the most recognizable of them being ‘Duck and Cover’. “Duck and Cover”, “an infamous piece of popular culture that was used to educate Americans on how to protect themselves in the case of an atomic blast”. Follows the story of Burt the Turtle who, in the face of adversity, will duck into his shell to protect himself. The film itself was shown throughout schools in America to educate the children of America on how to react in the event of nuclear fallout. The film was intended to calm fear through education, the government hoped the citizens would no longer fear if they understood.
With that being said, the illogicality behind the theory that hiding beneath your desk or covering your head against a walk or the nearest surface would protect you from a nuclear blast became apparent to the US considerably after the release of the film. American citizens entrusted their safety in the US government and were confident in the fact they would only provide accurate information and safety measures. “The backlash against Civil Defence, fallout shelters, ‘Duck and Cover’ and stocking shelters came later on as we learned more about a nuclear threat and what could be done about it realistically”. Whilst the Civil Defence films may have subdued some of the fears surrounding atomic technology, there was still apprehension and a visible shift in attitudes toward atomic power as more was discovered about this formidable weapon. With the government pushing weighty propaganda upon Americans about the positive results of atomic technology, many Americans struggled to find a way to express their ill-feeling toward it.
Therefore, one of the most popular emerging ways in which Americans found to express their different emotions towards atomic power and technology was through the use of satire. The best example of this satire is Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove: Or, How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb. Considered to be one of the more distinguished pieces of satire ever created, Kubrick encapsulates the absurdity of the Cold War and the concept of ‘Mutually Assured Destruction (M.A.D). Kubrick played on the concept suggested by military strategist Herman Kahn in which, in his book ‘On Thermonuclear War’, he claims that the Cold War would result in the development of a ‘doomsday device that could wipe out humanity”. He does this by devising a plot in the film where when the Soviets hear of the American Atomic Bomb, they hit back, claiming they possessed a doomsday device that would obliterate the entire world. Following this claim, General Buck Turgidson, the character depicted by George C. Scott, states, “Mr. President, I’m not saying we wouldn’t get out hair mussed. But I do say no more than ten to twenty million killed, tops, uh, depending on the breaks”.
This line captures the essence of how Kubrick and many Americans felt about the US military and government’s approach to atomic technology. The line was intended to highlight the incongruity of atomic military strategy. The idea that the most damage the Soviets could do was kill up to 20 million innocent US civilians, was not a substantial enough reason to warrant the cease of atomic testing. Through this satirical film, the view of Americans at the time was evident; they believed the US military had very little regard for American lives and that they were mere “pawns in a global game of chess”.
As time went on, the atomic testing did not cease, and the American public lost increasingly more trust in the American government’s ability to protect and prosper. What’s more, there were a series of nuclear and radiation incidents including, the partial core meltdown in Michigan in 1966 and ultimately the most infamous, Three Mile Island in 1979. The events at Three Mile Island solidified the apparent death of future aspirations for atomic technology, “no one would question whether there will be another accident. It’s merely a matter of when”. The atomic age has come and gone and what was once considered the zenith of technology was now and has been reduced to “a high-ranking fear among Americans today”.
To conclude, atomic technology at its emergence was seen as one of the greatest scientific innovations America, and even the world, had ever seen. Providing a new age of power and technology, it seemed to be opening the door to America’s future. This new-age way of thinking found its ways into the world of women’s popularity through the mode of fashion and lifestyle. The emergence of the bikini and the evolution of beauty pageants enhanced the correlation of attitudes towards atomic technology and female culture inspiring the feeling of modernism and change within America. However, this sentiment dwindled as the dangers of atomic technology and power became apparent to the citizens of America. The interminable atomic testing and evolution of the Cold War rendered the American people unable to support atomic technology, despite the vast expanse of positive propaganda and appearance of protection being thrown at them relentlessly by the government such as the civil defense film Duck and Cover’. The inability to express their feelings produced satirical films such as ‘Dr. Strangelove’ highlights the delicate and dangerous nature of the bomb through dark comedy whilst also highlighting American sentiment of how little value their lives were to the government in terms of the causalities of war.
Atomic technology including the atom bomb is still exceedingly prevalent in popular culture to this day, with tv shows, movies, and even video games referencing the technology. Video games such as Fallout 4 and Wasteland 2, depict America as an atomic wasteland following a soviet atomic attack. Atomic technology in the 1950s may have been the means to envision a brighter future but it is clear after the harsh realities of atomic power have come to light that the fantasy surrounding atomic technology dwindled and all that remained were the very tangible dangers and very concrete fear.
Bibliography
- “Miss Atom Bomb,” (Las Vegas, NV: National Nuclear Security Administration, 2004.)
- [bookmark: _Hlk25663333]Cornett, Joshua Samuel Scott, 'Bombs, Bikinis, and Godzilla: America's Fear and Fascination of the Atomic Bomb as Evidenced Through Popular Media, 1946-1962.' (2017).
- Daniel F. Ford, Three Mile Island: Thirty Minutes to Meltdown (New York: Viking Press, 1982), p. 261.
- Farrell, James J. “American Atomic Culture.” American Quarterly, vol. 43, no. 1, 1991, pp. 157–164. JSTOR,
- Herman Kahn, On Thermonuclear War (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1960), 144-155.
- Dr. Strangelove or: how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb. (1964). [DVD] Directed by S. Kubrick. Great Britain: Columbia Pictures.
- The Atomic Café, directed by Jayne Loader, Kevin Rafferty, and Pierce Rafferty. (1982; New York: The Archives Project, 2002): DVD.
- 'We Like Ike,' OpenStax College, US History. OpenStax CNX. May 15, 2015.
