Catalogue Number
NMLH.2022.230
Object Name
Leaflet
Title
The Atomic Cafe: A Movie leaflet
Date
1981
Description
This is an A4 leaflet. The paper is yellowed, and there is an image and brown text on the front. The image has the text "The Atomic Cafe A MOVIE" over a photograph of the Hiroshima bomb cloud. The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the only use of nuclear weapons in armed conflict. The remainder of the leaflet describes the Atomic Cafe film, its aims, and pleads for funding. The description states "The atomic cafe is a feature length documentary film on the Atomic age designed for general theatrical distribution, as well as use by anti-war and anti-nuclear organisations, schools and colleges. Cut entirely from historical footage, the atomic cafe sketches the broad outlines of American atomic development from Hiroshima to the bomb shelter hysteria of the Kennedy administration and demonstrates the relationship of the arms race to the politics and rhetoric of the Cold War. The Atomic Cafe graphically juxtaposes raw history with the media and and propaganda designed to interpret that history to the American people - propaganda which often suggests that nuclear war is a rational solution to international political problems. This freewheeling mix of history and propaganda results in a film that is entertaining as well as informative, a film with the potential to appeal to film goers who are not yet convinced that atomic weapons stockpiling can and must be stopped if we are to avoid worldwide destruction. Our goal is to inform and mobilize the uncommitted, apolitical Americans who must be reached to effect humane and progressive change in this country. We plan to have The Atomic Cafe completed by January, 1981. In order to do this, we desperately need money. We have raised $125,000 of a total budget of $175,000 without the help of large foundations or government sources, and must raise an additional $50,000 by the end of the year. If you would like to contribute to the Atomic Cafe, please make your check payable to the film fund and mail to atomic cafe project, the film fund, 80 East 11th Street, Suite 647, New York, N.Y. 10003. All contributions are tax deductible. If you would like further information about the project, or have ideas about the film, distribution possibilities or potential contributors in your area please write: The archives project, inc., 4717, Arlington Blvd, Arlington, VA 22203 or call us at 703-524-2178." The Atomic Cafe is a 1982 American documentary film directed by Kevin Rafferty, Jayne Loader and Pierce Rafferty. It is a compilation of clips from newsreels, military training films, and other footage produced in the United States early in the Cold War on the subject of nuclear warfare. Without any narration, the footage is edited and presented in a manner to demonstrate how misinformation and propaganda was used by the U.S. government and popular culture to ease fears about nuclear weapons among the American public.
