Duck and Cover
Duck and Cover was a short educational film produced in 1951 by the United States federal government's Civil Defense branch shortly after the Soviet Union began nuclear testing. Made with the help of Archer Productions and schoolchildren from New York City and Astoria, New York, it was shown in schools as the cornerstone of the government's "duck and cover" public awareness campaign. The movie states that nuclear war could happen at any time without warning, and for U.S. citizens to keep this constantly in mind and be ever ready.
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Summary
Because the film was a production of the U.S. government, it is in the public domain. It starts out with an animated sequence, showing an anthropomorphic turtle walking down the road. A chorus sings the Duck and Cover theme:
- There was a turtle by the name of Bert
- and Bert the turtle was very alert;
- when danger threatened him he never got hurt
- he knew just what to do...
- Duck! [inhalation sound]
- And Cover!
- Duck! [inhalation sound]
- And Cover!
As this goes on, Bert is attacked by a monkey (presumably symbolizing the Soviet Union) with a firecracker on a string. Bert ducks into his shell in the nick of time, as the firecracker goes off and blows up both the monkey and the tree he is sitting in (ironically, suicide bombing would become a modern terrorist tactic; see Duct Tape & Cover below). Bert, however, is perfectly safe - the duck and cover idea.
The film, which is about ten minutes long, then switches to live footage, as a narrator explains what children should do "when you see the flash" of an atomic bomb. The movie goes on to suggest that by ducking down low in the event of a nuclear explosion you are safer than you would be standing, and explains some basic survival tactics for nuclear war.
History and logic
After nuclear weapons were developed, (the first being developed during the Manhattan Project during World War II) it was realized what kind of danger they posed. The United States held a nuclear monopoly from the end of the World War II until 1949, when the Soviets detonated their first nuclear device.
This signaled the beginning of the nuclear stage of the Cold War, and as a result, strategies for survival were thought out. Fallout shelters, both private and public, were built, but it was still necessary to explain to citizens both the danger of the atomic (and later, hydrogen) bombs, and to give them some sort of training so that they would be prepared to act in the event of a nuclear strike.
The solution was the duck and cover campaign, of which Duck and Cover was an integral part. Shelters were built, drills were held in towns and schools, and the movie was shown to thousands of schoolchildren as a training film.
Controversy
There is some controversy regarding the actual usefulness of the film. Since it has no analog in any other country (and is therefore theorectically not needed for atomic safety), the world's only duck and cover film for children is sometimes regarded as being a red scare political tool, to make children frightened of the Soviet Union and communism. Also questioned is the film's scientific accuracy; whether or not the tactics shown in the film (such as ducking into a doorway, putting a newspaper over your head and even just throwing yourself facedown on the ground) would actually work.
Part of the problem in communicating to the public how to deal with atomic weapons was that most civilians had never dealt with anything on the scale of magnitude as an atomic explosion before. Thus, the movie says, "you will see a bright flash, brighter than the sun, brighter than anything you have ever seen", and that the flash is much, much worse than a sunburn.
Duck and Cover in pop culture
Although now somewhat dated in terms of usefulness (as the duck and cover drills are no longer being held in schools and most of the fallout shelters have been closed down or abandoned) Duck and Cover, which was shown to an entire generation of children, is now occasionally incorporated into popular culture.
- In The Atomic Cafe, Duck and Cover footage is used.
- In The Iron Giant, Hogarth Hughes and his classmates in the year 1957 watch a different version of Duck and Cover, featuring chipmunks (or possibly groundhogs) who, like Bert the Turtle, are also wearing Civil Defense helmets.
- In an Atom Ant music video on Cartoon Network, some audio clips from Duck and Cover, such as "We must all get ready, now" are used.
- In one episode of South Park, a volcano erupts and the townspeople are shown Duck and Cover.
- After Tom Ridge announced his duct tape and plastic sheeting plan for national security, a Flash movie entitled Duct Tape and Cover (http://www.solidarity.com/hkcartoons/duckandcover.html) was made, spoofing the whole idea. The monkey in this movie is Osama bin Laden.
- In the English translation of issue #66 of the Love Hina manga (which is in Volume 8), Keitaro Urashima and Naru Narusegawa are on Pararakelse, island of a lost turtle-worshiping civilization. After a freak rocket attack (which they survive), Keitaro says: "Sheesh! It's a good thing we remembered to duck and cover!" The same volume also contains references to South Park, James Bond and Shaft; it is unlikely any of these appeared in the Japanese version.
- In Army Men II: Sarge's Heroes, if the 'armageddon' cheat is used, the area the user's screen is over is carpet-bombed. As this happens, the message "Duck and cover!" scrolls across the top of the screen.
- There is a movie called Tuck and Cover, whose name is an obvious spoof of Duck and Cover.
See also
- Duck and cover, for further discussion of this method of self-defense.
- Compare to Protect and Survive, a British information film on the same topic, although with a different tone.
External links
- Duck and Cover! is available for download or streaming at Prelinger Archive (http://www.archive.org/movies/details-db.php?collection=prelinger&collectionid=19069).
- The Duck and Cover (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0213381/)page on the IMDb.
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Categories: Cold War | Animated films | Propaganda films