The Celluloid Threat of Atomic Annihilation – The Cinema of Nuclear War.

“Just look at it, its on fire! Everything is on fire!”

When reporter Megan Barclay looks across the bay in the direction of the city of Charleston and attempts to assess the damage done by the accidental detonation of a nuclear bomb in 1983’s Special Bulletin, Actress Roxanne Hart conveys a rich concoction of emotion: disbelief, disgust, dismay - and then fear. In microcosm, this scene portrays widely-held public attitudes to nuclear weapons at that time. In fact, 1983 can be regarded as something of a pinnacle as regards the...