Throughout the World, people are taught that lying or baring false information is wrong. Many people know this fact, yet people continue to lie, mislead, or even withhold all information to another person or group of people. Sometimes they’re just little lies, for example, a brother destroying his sister’s doll, but not telling her who did it or how it was ruined. Other times, telling a white lie can become a life or death situation, especially when it’s people in power, like the government lying to its citizens. The government has withheld or manipulated information about a situation to protect its citizens, but should the people know what’s really happening?
Atomic Café represents this situation almost perfectly. This documentary of nuclear war exposes the American government lying/misleading U.S. citizens about the true dangers of nuclear testing and warfare. The entire purpose of the creation of Atomic Café was to show that at times the government would leave out information on certain matters that are potentially dangers, and this documentary allows the public to see with their own eyes what the government was not showing its citizens. The filmmakers want the viewer to see the government was lessening the problem with the atomic bomb. The government not only did this to average citizens, but even to their own military. For example, an officer teaching soldiers about Radiation announces, “The radiation level maybe high, but if you follow orders you’ll be moved out in time to avoid sickness”. Exposure to high levels of radiation is dangerous and can be fatal, even with treatment. The officer was told misleading information about the true harmful effects of radiation poising, and now he his passing that information down to U.S. troops. Soldiers were even told that radiation could only penetrate the body through openings like the mouth, nose, or cuts and scraps on the surface of the body; this was a total lie as soldiers exposed to radiation soon discovered. The documentary shows actual footage of nuclear testing and the true effects of what would actually happen if an atomic bomb went off in a city. Not only did the military use U.S. troops to test how radiation would affect people, but they also tested how a building would stand against the blast. The film showed a house being ripped apart and obliterated into tiny pieces. After the explosion was set off troops were sent in to the destroyed area. In an interview one soldier states that he got a mouth full of dirt from the blast.
The government made the whole issue about an atomic bomb less concerning than what is really was. Instead of the government completely lying about the fact that they had created an atomic bomb, they only lied about how much destruction it could cause. The clip “Duck and Cover” was used in to show citizens what to do if a nuclear explosion went off. People were told to take cover underneath anything they could find. In schools, the children would duck underneath their desks, at home people would hide under their beds or dinner table, and outside people were told to duck or lie down on the ground and cover themselves with whatever they could fit under. The “Duck and Cover” video was made so people wouldn’t panic and could feel safe if a nuclear explosion ever went off. In the clip, a family took refugees underneath a picnic blanket to shield themselves from the blast. The fact that a blanket could protect you from an explosion equivalent to 1.2 million tons of dynamite going off was ridicules, yet no one knew the government would lie to them about something so serious.
The filmmakers’ attitude towards the government lying is negative and they disapprove of them misleading the public. They might not support the government lying to the public, but they understand that the government has to decide whether or not the public is able to handle information like an atomic bomb. The filmmakers want you to question whether or not what the government is telling you contains the whole truth. They want the viewers to be aware that the government could also be doing this to protect us, the citizens.
In the public’s eye, the government had only two choices in explaining what was really happening. They could announce to everyone what the atomic bomb was, or lie/ not even mention the creation of a deadly weapon to U.S. citizens. The explanation goes deeper than that, because the government only kept this information secret to keep its citizens safe. If the Government told us everything that was happening panic would ensue and the overflow of information would make people insane. It could cause fear and cause the economy and eventually the government to fail. Although it is wrong to mislead the public in trying to protect them, citizens should have a right to know some information about the situation happening.
Works Cited:
1) Rafferty, Kevin, Jayne Loader, Pierce Rafferty, and Rick Eaker. The Atomic Cafe. New York: Docurama, 2002.
Government Exposed
Throughout the World, people are taught that lying or baring false information is wrong. Many people know this fact, yet people continue to lie, mislead, or even withhold all information to another person or group of people. Sometimes they’re just little lies, for example, a brother destroying his sister’s doll, but not telling her who did it or how it was ruined. Other times, telling a white lie can become a life or death situation, especially when it’s people in power, like the government lying to its citizens. The government has withheld or manipulated information about a situation to protect its citizens, but should the people know what’s really happening?Atomic Café represents this situation almost perfectly. This documentary of nuclear war exposes the American government lying/misleading U.S. citizens about the true dangers of nuclear testing and warfare. The entire purpose of the creation of Atomic Café was to show that at times the government would leave out information on certain matters that are potentially dangers, and this documentary allows the public to see with their own eyes what the government was not showing its citizens. The filmmakers want the viewer to see the government was lessening the problem with the atomic bomb. The government not only did this to average citizens, but even to their own military. For example, an officer teaching soldiers about Radiation announces, “The radiation level maybe high, but if you follow orders you’ll be moved out in time to avoid sickness”. Exposure to high levels of radiation is dangerous and can be fatal, even with treatment. The officer was told misleading information about the true harmful effects of radiation poising, and now he his passing that information down to U.S. troops. Soldiers were even told that radiation could only penetrate the body through openings like the mouth, nose, or cuts and scraps on the surface of the body; this was a total lie as soldiers exposed to radiation soon discovered. The documentary shows actual footage of nuclear testing and the true effects of what would actually happen if an atomic bomb went off in a city. Not only did the military use U.S. troops to test how radiation would affect people, but they also tested how a building would stand against the blast. The film showed a house being ripped apart and obliterated into tiny pieces. After the explosion was set off troops were sent in to the destroyed area. In an interview one soldier states that he got a mouth full of dirt from the blast.
The government made the whole issue about an atomic bomb less concerning than what is really was. Instead of the government completely lying about the fact that they had created an atomic bomb, they only lied about how much destruction it could cause. The clip “Duck and Cover” was used in to show citizens what to do if a nuclear explosion went off. People were told to take cover underneath anything they could find. In schools, the children would duck underneath their desks, at home people would hide under their beds or dinner table, and outside people were told to duck or lie down on the ground and cover themselves with whatever they could fit under. The “Duck and Cover” video was made so people wouldn’t panic and could feel safe if a nuclear explosion ever went off. In the clip, a family took refugees underneath a picnic blanket to shield themselves from the blast. The fact that a blanket could protect you from an explosion equivalent to 1.2 million tons of dynamite going off was ridicules, yet no one knew the government would lie to them about something so serious.
The filmmakers’ attitude towards the government lying is negative and they disapprove of them misleading the public. They might not support the government lying to the public, but they understand that the government has to decide whether or not the public is able to handle information like an atomic bomb. The filmmakers want you to question whether or not what the government is telling you contains the whole truth. They want the viewers to be aware that the government could also be doing this to protect us, the citizens.
In the public’s eye, the government had only two choices in explaining what was really happening. They could announce to everyone what the atomic bomb was, or lie/ not even mention the creation of a deadly weapon to U.S. citizens. The explanation goes deeper than that, because the government only kept this information secret to keep its citizens safe. If the Government told us everything that was happening panic would ensue and the overflow of information would make people insane. It could cause fear and cause the economy and eventually the government to fail. Although it is wrong to mislead the public in trying to protect them, citizens should have a right to know some information about the situation happening.
Works Cited:
1) Rafferty, Kevin, Jayne Loader, Pierce Rafferty, and Rick Eaker. The Atomic Cafe. New York: Docurama, 2002.
2) http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/atomic_bomb.htm