Link: Proof That Untidy Housekeeping Can Kill You! [Preview]
Description:
Scientists love to blow things up. Throw in dramatic music, an atomic blast, and a Father-Knows-Best narrator, and you have all the makings of a Cold War propaganda film. The House in the Middle, a 1954 film by the National Clean Up-Paint Up-Fix Up Bureau (who knew?) set in the Nevada Test Site, is designed to show how to guard your home against the heat of an atomic explosion. The film shows how houses surrounded by litter and made of unpainted wood catch fire more easily than tidy houses with a fresh coat of paint. The film is fun for its camp value and atomic bomb footage. You wonder whether the people behind the film really believe that a fresh coat of paint stands between you and your own personal nuclear holocaust. Then you find out that the film was co-sponsored by the National Paint, Varnish and Lacquer Association, and it all makes sense--it's simply marketing disguised as government propaganda disguised as civil defense preparedness. What better way to get the Joneses to paint their house and Johnny to clean up his room than by scaring the hell out of them? The truly scary part is watching scientists touch the houses with their bare hands after the nuclear blast. The film is hosted by the Internet Archive.
Scientists love to blow things up. Throw in dramatic music, an atomic blast, and a Father-Knows-Best narrator, and you have all the makings of a Cold War propaganda film. The House in the Middle, a 1954 film by the National Clean Up-Paint Up-Fix Up Bureau (who knew?) set in the Nevada Test Site, is designed to show how to guard your home against the heat of an atomic explosion. The film shows how houses surrounded by litter and made of unpainted wood catch fire more easily than tidy houses with a fresh coat of paint. The film is fun for its camp value and atomic bomb footage. You wonder whether the people behind the film really believe that a fresh coat of paint stands between you and your own personal nuclear holocaust. Then you find out that the film was co-sponsored by the National Paint, Varnish and Lacquer Association, and it all makes sense--it's simply marketing disguised as government propaganda disguised as civil defense preparedness. What better way to get the Joneses to paint their house and Johnny to clean up his room than by scaring the hell out of them? The truly scary part is watching scientists touch the houses with their bare hands after the nuclear blast. The film is hosted by the Internet Archive.Posted:
10/22/05 (Edited 11/30/05)
Rating:
0 vote(s).
Views:
195
Views in the last 30 days: 1.
0 vote(s).
Views:
195
Views in the last 30 days: 1.
Rate this Link:
E-mail Link to Someone:
Comments
Post a Comment
Members currently reading these link details:
Online Users
0 members, 14 guests
Submit
Search
Newest Links