The Atomic Cafe is a sometimes hilarious, sometimes sobering collection of film clips taken from American propaganda films of the 1950s. The thrust of the production is to expose the misinformation (and downright lies) dispensed by the government concerning the atomic bomb. We are shown vignettes from such classic instructional films as Duck and Cover, wherein school children are assured that they will survive a nuclear attack simply by huddling together next to the schoolhouse wall. In another sequence, a pack of pigs are dressed in Army uniforms and left to die at “Ground Zero” during a nuclear test to see if human beings (who purportedly have the same skin consistency as pigs) could endure such an ordeal. Fascinating though it is, Atomic Cafe makes its basic point early in the proceedings, then tends to repeat that point over and over rather than expand upon it.

Produced when the anti-nuclear movement was finding new strength in the United States, The Atomic Cafe is a disturbing and disquieting but frequently hilarious meditation on the early days of the atomic bomb. Produced with no voice-over narration, Cafe tells its tale through the editing of various clips from the 1940s and 1950s, along with some vintage nuclear-themed recordings of the era. Contemporary audiences will likely be mystified at the naïveté and ignorance exhibited by many of the ordinary citizens interviewed therein, and appalled at the lies of many of those in authority at the time. The blatant manipulation within much of the propaganda certainly produces laughs, but it also makes one ponder the gullibility of the American public, regardless of era. The many shots of atom and hydrogen bombs exploding also have a strange effect. While they are frequently frightening, the images themselves when taken objectively have a certain beauty. While the repetition of the film’s basic message — that America was (and continues to be) unwilling to face the unpleasant truth about its involvement with nuclear artillery and denied that truth in a variety of ways — and its ironic tone both become wearing after a while. Nevertheless, the finale, in which a series of devastating explosions is inter-cut with people engaging in the futile “safety” tips given them by the government, is powerful and haunting.

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