After the Atomic Bomb
The development and usage of the first atomic bombs has caused a change in military, political, and public functionality of the world today. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki revolutionized warfare by killing large masses of civilian population with a single strike. The bombs' effects from the blast, extreme heat, and radiation left an estimated 140,000 people dead. The bombs created a temporary resolution that lead to another conflict. The Cold War was a political standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States that again created a new worldwide nuclear threat. The destructive potential of nuclear weapons had created a global sweep of fear as to what might happen if these terrible forces where unleashed again. The technology involved in building the first atomic bombs has grown into the creation of nuclear weapons that are potentially 40 times more powerful than the original bombs used. However, a military change in strategy has came to promote nuclear disarmament and prevent the usage of nuclear weapons. The technology of building the atomic bomb has spurred some useful innovations that can be applied through the use of nuclear power. The fear of a potential nuclear attack had been heightened b
Center for Nonproliferation Studies (Monterey Institute of International Studies) Today the media greatly influences public opinion in matters of nuclear weapons. Movies such as "Threads," "Dr. Strangelove", "Testament," and "The Day After" have all impacted on public opinion and caused a fair deal of controversy over content and ideas expressed ("TV's Nuclear Nightmare" 66). "The Day After," a movie made by ABC Productions and directed by Nicholas Meyer, is a movie with "four minutes of the most horrifically searing footage ever to pass a network censor..." inspired by the usage of the atomic bombs and the nuclear weapons controversy (66). "The Day After" has changed the very idea of television by using it as a source of public influence. The movie had "emerged as the single biggest mobilizing point for the antinuclear movement...regarded as a two hour commercial for disarmament" (66). "The Day After" had inspired a nationwide debate about the horrors of nuclear war and how to increase awareness (66). On November 20, 1983 "The Day After" premiered on network television that had opened the controversy of a nuclear threat ("The Day After" 2). "Our twentieth century is the century of fear..." the movie states referring to almost unavoidable nuclear devastation (2). More importantly "the threat of annihilation through nuclear war [had] influenced-consciously and unconsciously-entire generations, coloring their attitudes toward the future, family, marriage, work, time, leisure, and death" (2). The public's opinion toward nuclear war had also been heard earlier in the 1960's. Atom Ant was a popular cartoon broadcast by Hanna Barbera Productions inspired by the atomic bomb tests, the demonstrations against them, and the concern about nuclear fallout at the time ("Atom Ant" 1). Atom Ant's battle cry, "up and atom, Atom Ant!" had been a reference to the Cold War and the situation between the East and West (1). Public opinion undoubtedly expressed fear and concern as to what could happen if nuclear weapons were to be used again. Folkkampanjen mot karnkraft och karnvapen [Swedish Anti-Nuclear Movement] The bombs had raised hell on earth for those few minutes and produced a tremendous amount of casualties. The way people had died was shocking. More than 75% of the people killed died from the instantaneous heat and light at the moment of explosion called "flash burns" ("Summary of Damages and Injuries" 3, 25). During the first minute of the explosion many injuries where caused by the instantaneous penetrating radiation from the nuclear explosion (3). Other casualties came from burning fires that had ignited throughout the cities from the tremendous heat of the blast (3). The pressure of the blast waves created flying debris, collapsed buildings, and forcibly hurled people to their death (3). Undoubtedly those who survived the initial effects of the blast were very lucky. Coalition to Reduce Nuclear Dangers The technology that had built the atomic bomb helped the "world [get] a glimpse of its own mortality" (Lanouette 28). The power of mass destruction had been taken out of nature's hands and was now controlled by people. This created a worldwide anxiety of how this newly cast power could be used and changed how the world functions today. The atomic bombs may have resolved one conflict, but with that resolution arose many more. The controversy over nuclear weapons would soon take on a new meaning during the Cold War.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Soviet Union, Damages Injuries, War II, Nicholas Meyer, Union United, Little Boy, East West, Hiroshima Nagasaki, Smirnov Zubov, Cold War, soviet union, nuclear weapons, atomic bombs, atomic bomb, nuclear war, cold war, public opinion, nuclear threat, coalition reduce nuclear, usage atomic, coalition reduce, reduce nuclear dangers, nuclear dangers 1, nonproliferation international security, international security division,
Approximate Word count = 2476
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
