dad (03/29/83)
I don't watch very much TV these days but after seeing the movie "Atomic Cafe" (on cable TV - very thought provoking) I've decided that I have to consider the effects of a nuclear attack on my nearest major city. According to another movie, the "Prophecies of Nostrodamus", (spelling correct?), New York city will be destroyed by a nuclear attack in the 1990s. Since I live about 70 miles south-east of the city (in Jersey), my house would survive an atomic explosion, but I imagine that the following would also result: * Loss of electricity - no light, no heat (if winter time). * Loss of water pressure - no drinking water, showers, toilets. * General food and water shortages * High radiation dust in the air, causing... * Mass exodus of NY, Conn, NJ residents to other towns, cities that are unequipped to deal with them. * No money coming in - my job site is in the affected area. * No easy way to travel - gas may be impossible to get, the highways would be crowed with people trying to get out! * Loss of contact with other family members - they wouldn't know if I and my family were alive or dead. They may be incapable of locating or getting to me for perhaps months. If the attack occurs during the day, I might even become separated from my wife (works elsewhere) for long periods of time. * Trauma and panic - trying to survive the above would cause psychological traumas. Brutal, savage behavior may become widespread. Suicide may be common. If there is an atomic blast in NY city, I guess I'd like to be right there when it happens. Trying to survive the aftermath may be too much to bear. Anyway, I've heard that there was a TV show a while ago that dealt with this theme (not SPECIAL BULLETIN). Help... what was the name of the show, and what other effects were caused by the a disaster. Also, if you can think of other immediate or cumulative effects let know. I'm not trying to scare myself with this information, just understand what really could happen!
mabgarstin (03/30/83)
Regarding eisx!dad's question about some other movie (not SPECIAL BULLETIN)
depicting the aftermath of an atomic engagement, I know of only one good
program dealing with these post disaster hardships anyway half decently. It's
called SURVIVORS and is a 4 season weekly episode about survival after a
deadly world virus epidemic, not nuclear attack. Dispite that it is not nuclear
many of the same problems exist, no gasoline, no food, no electricity, etc.
It was produced by the BBC and is in typical high BBC quality of realism,
impact and presentation. I recommend this series very highly, way above
Thorn Birds, Shogun or any other of these high priced extravaganzas. It was
shown up here in Canada on the CBC at 12:30 Saturday night and there were
several people I was aware of who faithfully stayed up and watched it.
The basic plot of the series is that some unknown scientist accidently
contaminates himself with an unknown, extremely contagious and extremely
deadly virus. He very shortly leaves for some meeting or convention some
where and travels by plane through international airports. Of course every-
one at the airports contract the virus and they carry it to all parts of the
earth contaminating everyone in the world. Within two weeks the whole world
is dying and no one has a cure for it. There are some people who have a
natural immunity to it so approximately 1 out of every 10,000 survive. No
one in the whole program who survives are related to anyone else or knew
anyone else before the disaster occurred execpt one man and his personal
secretary, everyone else is strangers. The ultimate goal is to set up some
form of farming community and become self sufficient. This is not so far
reliefed from the aftermath of an atomic attack except for the nuclear
radiation. The disease is all there with the dead decaying bodies, the
cities are inhabitable (lots of dead decaying bodies) and there is a fair
amount of destruction, things when left to themselves (like factories) have
this tendency to catch on fire and fires when left to themselves have a
tendency to burn an awful lot of other things before they stop.
Just a few points brought out by this series that most people don't
realise concerning disaster aftermaths is medicine, what do you do about
disease, what if you cut yourself what then, say you break an arm or leg, you
can set it but what if you don't set it right, what if you're paralized, even
partially, what if you wear glasses and they get broken or you need a new
prescription, what if you're deaf and your hearing aid battery is getting low,
what if you have a pacemaker (you're a walking time bomb), what if you get
pregnant, who'll be a good midwife especially if there are complications?
Food, how do you know that the fish you just caught or the chicken or rabbit
you just killed is not diseased in someway, how do you know that the plant
you just plucked is edible? What do you do about farming and raising crops and
livestock in order to surive, have any of you out there tried milking a cow
or goat. Education, let's say that you've somehow survived the disaster and
you've figured how to farm and that you've found a farm complete with grain
and livestock to work, what about your children (provided that you've found
a mate suitable for having children) when are you going to find time to
teach them knowledge, what are you going to teach them (VLSI technology?)
and what can you teach them?
There is one other problem associated with great eliminations of the
population that was brought out in this series and that was the psychological
impact it had on the individual. The immense feeling of loneliness and no
going back. Some people in the program may have been considered normal in
their lives before the disaster but with the stresses involved they were drawn
out of the closet and displayed a wide range of psychotic abnormalities.
There was this one man who was very highly sexed by nature but he had a wife
who was also highly sexed and occassionally he would pick up a hooker just
to take the edge off of everything. This kept him well balanced and adjusted
in society and he appeared as a normal person. After the disaster he survived
but his wife and all the hookers didn't and for about two weeks he didn't see
anyone. When he met up with the main group of survivors in the program he
immediately and systematically tried to lay each and every female in the
group. Of course (being a TV program maybe) he didn't get to first base with
any of them and when the group decided to leave this guy behind he grabbed
the 8 year old girl in the group and threatened the rest and the girl with a
gun to leave the little girl with him so he could have sex with her. This
may sound kinky but when one considers the stresses behind all this it isn't
any wonder that this sort of thing would happen.
In conclussion, if someone asked me which movie or TV program was my
favourite above all I would have to give a double plus rating for this series
above ALL else, including Star Wars and Casablanca.
MAB