Nuclear weapons in popular culture
Encyclopedia
Since their public debut in August 1945, nuclear weapon
s and their potential effects have been a recurring motif in popular culture
, to the extent that the decades of the Cold War
are often referred to as the "atomic age
."
Some of the more famous nuclear war songs include: "99 Luftballons
" (1983) by the German group Nena
, which depicts accidental nuclear war begun by an early-warning system identifying a group of balloons with enemy bombers or missiles; and Bob Dylan
's "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall
" (1963), which premiered shortly before the Cuban Missile Crisis. He also made reference to nuclear weapons in his song "With God on Our Side" released as the third track on his 1964 album The Times They Are a-Changin'
."But now we have weapons, of chemical dust...if fire them we're forced to...then fire them we must...".In many cases the allusions to nuclear war are not explicit, however. Iron Maiden
's "Brighter than a Thousand Suns", on their album A Matter of Life and Death
is a recent example. Steely Dan
's "King of the World," on the album Countdown to Ecstasy
is an example of upbeat music and very downbeat lyrics which give a very bleak picture of the post-nuclear world.
Heavy metal
as a genre has been concerned with nuclear warfare since the days of Black Sabbath
. Their classics, "War Pigs
" and "Electric Funeral
", respectively, are among the first metal songs to describe war, political corruption and atomic holocaust. In the early eighties, Iron Maiden
wrote a number of songs which described nuclear war including "2 Minutes to Midnight
" (a song about the doomsday clock
), and the aforementioned "Brighter than a Thousand Suns" to name a few. The theme continued in heavy metal through the early nineties, especially in the thrash metal
subgenre. Metallica
wrote many popular songs about nuclear war and political corruption such as "Fight Fire with Fire", "...And Justice For All
", and "Blackened
". Megadeth
's name is taken from the term "megadeath," used to describe one million deaths from a nuclear weapon, and much of their album artworks and songs deal with nuclear war and weapons. Other thrash bands such as Sodom
and Anthrax
also wrote a number of songs on the topic. The genre even inspired bands like Nuclear Assault
and Warbringer
to adopt the subject in their band names themselves. This trend also spread to Eastern European metal with popular Russian metal band Aria
writing the song "Last Sunset" (Последний)
Among the many songs alluding to nuclear weapons and nuclear war in the 1980s was the song "Manhattan Project
" (1985) by the band Rush
, one of the few songs with copious literal references to historical events leading to the first nuclear weapons. Additionally the band has a song about the possibility of nuclear war entitled "Distant Early Warning
", the video of which features nuclear-related imagery.
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
's 1980 song Enola Gay
depicts the events of the 1945 deployment of nuclear weapons on Hiroshima from the point of view of the crew of the B29 Superfortress Bomber Enola Gay
. Clear references are made to the exact time the bomb detonated ("It's eight fifteen, and that's the time that it's always been"), and questions are asked as to whether the action was necessary. The song also references a supposed radio message in which the crew detail no anomalies as a result of nuclear detonation ("We got your message on the radio - conditions normal and you're coming home"); the American government denied any rumours of radiation sickness associated with the dropping of the bombs.
Satirical artists such as Tom Lehrer
and "Weird Al" Yankovic
have drawn upon the motif of nuclear war for humor in their songs (as discussed below).
The album cover for the single "Teenagers
" by My Chemical Romance
is a mushroom cloud. The image also appears in the video for the song.
The glam metal band Warrant released a song off their 1992 album Dog Eat Dog
entitled "April 2031" which depicts life after a nuclear holocaust.
Ska punk band RX Bandits
make a reference to Nuclear War in their song "Nugget" with the line "Its 3 Years til I'm 24 and i don't wanna die in a Nuclear War"
Irish rock Legends U2
also named their 2004 album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
In addition, the band Pink Floyd
produced a song titled Two Suns in the Sunset
, which indirectly referenced a nuclear attack. This song was the last of the predominantly war-themed album The Final Cut.
Linkin Park
's 2010 album "A Thousand Suns
" deals with nuclear warfare
and themes of war in general.
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s and their potential effects have been a recurring motif in popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
, to the extent that the decades of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
are often referred to as the "atomic age
Atomic Age
The Atomic Age, also known as the Atomic Era, is a phrase typically used to delineate the period of history following the detonation of the first nuclear bomb Trinity on July 16, 1945...
."
In fiction, film, and theater
- Nuclear weapons are a staple element in science fictionScience fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novels. The phrase "atomic bomb" predates their existence, back to H. G. WellsH. G. WellsHerbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
' The World Set FreeThe World Set FreeThe World Set Free is a novel published in 1914 by H. G. Wells. The book is considered to foretell nuclear weapons. It had appeared first in serialized form with a different ending as A Prophetic Trilogy, consisting of three books: A Trap to Catch the Sun, The Last War in the World and The World...
(1914) when scientists had discovered that radioactive decay implied potentially limitless energy locked inside of atomic particles (Wells' atomic bombs were only as powerful as conventional explosives, but would continue exploding for days on end). Robert A. HeinleinRobert A. HeinleinRobert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
's 1940 Solution UnsatisfactorySolution Unsatisfactory"Solution Unsatisfactory" is a 1940 science fiction short story by Robert A. Heinlein. It describes the US effort to build a nuclear weapon in order to end the ongoing World War II, and its dystopian consequences to the nation and the world....
posits radioactive dustRadiological weaponA radiological weapon or radiological dispersion device is any weapon that is designed to spread radioactive material with the intent to kill, and cause disruption upon a city or nation....
as a weapon that the US develops in a crash program to end World War II; the dust's existence forces drastic changes in the postwar world. Cleve CartmillCleve CartmillCleve Cartmill was an American writer of science fiction and fantasy short stories. He is best remembered for what is sometimes referred to as "the Cleve Cartmill affair", when his 1944 story "Deadline" attracted the attention of the FBI by reason of its detailed description of a nuclear weapon...
predicted a chain-reaction-type nuclear bomb in his 1944 science fiction story "Deadline," which led to the FBI investigating him, due to concern over a potential breach of security on the Manhattan ProjectManhattan ProjectThe Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
. (see Silverberg). - Many of the characteristics of nuclear weapons themselves have played on ages-old human themes and tropes (penetrating rays, persistent contamination, virility, and, of course, apocalypseApocalypseAn Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
), giving their standing in popular culture and politics a particularly emotional valence (both positive and negative). For example, the book Down to a Sunless SeaDown to a Sunless SeaDavid Graham's Down to a Sunless Sea is a post-apocalyptic novel about a planeload of people during and after a short nuclear war, set in a near-future world where the USA is critically short of oil...
(1979 novel) is set in a post-holocaust environment, as what may be one of the last planeloads of survivors tries to find a place to land. - Nuclear weapons have even featured in children's works: The Butter Battle BookThe Butter Battle BookThe Butter Battle Book is a rhyming story written by Dr. Seuss. It was published by Random House Books for Young Readers on January 12, 1984. It is an anti-war story; specifically, a parable about arms races in general, mutually assured destruction and nuclear weapons in particular...
, by Dr. SeussDr. SeussTheodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg and, in one case, Rosetta Stone....
, deals with deterrence and the arms race. - I Live in FearI Live in Fearis a 1955 Japanese film written and directed by Akira Kurosawa. It was co-written by Shinobu Hashimoto, Fumio Hayasaka, and Hideo Oguni.The film stars Kurosawa regulars Toshirō Mifune and Takashi Shimura. It is in black-and-white and runs 103 minutes. The film was entered into the 1956 Cannes Film...
, a 1955 Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa, is about a Japanese businessman who is terrified of nuclear and was among the earliest films to deal with the psychological impact of nuclear weapons. - Many films, some of which were based on novels, feature nuclear war or the threat of it. GodzillaGodzillais a daikaijū, a Japanese movie monster, first appearing in Ishirō Honda's 1954 film Godzilla. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in 28 films produced by Toho Co., Ltd. The monster has appeared in numerous other media incarnations including video games,...
(1954) is considered by some to be an analogy to the nuclear weapons dropped on Japan, another pre-dating film The Beast from 20,000 FathomsThe Beast from 20,000 FathomsThe Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is a 1953 science fiction film directed by Eugène Lourié and stars Paul Christian, Paula Raymond and Cecil Kellaway with visual effects by Ray Harryhausen. The film is about an atomic bomb test in the Arctic Circle that unfreezes a hibernating fictional dinosaur, a...
being the start of a more general genre of movies about creatures mutatedMutationIn molecular biology and genetics, mutations are changes in a genomic sequence: the DNA sequence of a cell's genome or the DNA or RNA sequence of a virus. They can be defined as sudden and spontaneous changes in the cell. Mutations are caused by radiation, viruses, transposons and mutagenic...
or awakened by nuclear testing. Them! (1954) (giant ants in Los Angeles sewers) is based on a similar premise. The Incredible Shrinking ManThe Incredible Shrinking ManThe Incredible Shrinking Man is a 1957 science fiction film directed by Jack Arnold and adapted for the screen by Richard Matheson from his novel The Shrinking Man ....
(novel) (film, 1957) starts with a sailor irradiated by a bomb test, based on a real incident of irradiation of Japanese fisherman. In A Canticle for LeibowitzA Canticle for LeibowitzA Canticle for Leibowitz is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by American writer Walter M. Miller, Jr., first published in 1960. Set in a Roman Catholic monastery in the desert of the southwestern United States after a devastating nuclear war, the story spans thousands of years as...
, (novel, no film, 1959) the previous war is known as the "Flame Deluge"; On the Beach (novel 1957, film 1959, television miniseries 2000) is most famous for making the end of humanity a theme in popular thinking on nuclear war; Final WarFinal WarFinal War or Final Wars is a term used in fiction or in titles to promote fiction. As used in fiction, it is typically concerning an apocalyptic war.* Final War * Final war of the Roman Republic* Godzilla: Final Wars...
(Japan, 1960) nuclear war erupts after the USA accidentally bombs South Korea. The 1962 film This is Not a TestThis is Not a Test (1962 film)This Is Not a Test is an American motion picture released in 1962. Produced at the height of the Cold War, the film was one of a number of productions of the late-1950s and early-1960s based upon the premise of the outbreak of nuclear war.-Plot:...
addresses the reactions and emotions of a group of people in the minutes prior to a nuclear attack. - Some non-fiction works of the time had an effect on cultural works. Herman KahnHerman KahnHerman Kahn was one of the preeminent futurists of the latter third of the twentieth century. In the early 1970s he predicted the rise of Japan as a major world power. He was a founder of the Hudson Institute think tank and originally came to prominence as a military strategist and systems...
's innovative non-fiction book On Thermonuclear WarOn Thermonuclear WarOn Thermonuclear War is a book by Herman Kahn, a military strategist at the RAND Corporation, although it was written only a year before he left RAND to form the Hudson Institute. It is a controversial treatise on the nature and theory of war in the thermonuclear age...
, (1961) describing various nuclear war scenarios, was never widely popular, but the seeming outlandishness of its projections and the possibility of a "Doomsday MachineDoomsday deviceA doomsday device is a hypothetical construction — usually a weapon, or collection of weapons — which could destroy all life on a planet, particularly the Earth, or destroy the planet itself, bringing "doomsday", a term used for the end of planet Earth...
" (an idea Kahn got from Leo SzilardLeó SzilárdLeó Szilárd was an Austro-Hungarian physicist and inventor who conceived the nuclear chain reaction in 1933, patented the idea of a nuclear reactor with Enrico Fermi, and in late 1939 wrote the letter for Albert Einstein's signature that resulted in the Manhattan Project that built the atomic bomb...
before relatively small, deliverable thermonuclear weapons were developed in 1954) as a way to prevent war were direct inspirations for director Stanley KubrickStanley KubrickStanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
to handle Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the BombDr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the BombDr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, commonly known as Dr. Strangelove, is a 1964 black comedy film which satirizes the nuclear scare. It was directed, produced, and co-written by Stanley Kubrick, starring Peter Sellers and George C. Scott, and featuring Sterling...
as a black comedy. (Menand, 2005) The 1964 film was loosely based on Red Alert, and a later novelization of the film was also written by the original author Peter George. Fail-SafeFail-Safe (novel)Fail-Safe is a novel by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler, published in 1962.The popular and critically acclaimed novel was first adapted into a 1964 film of the same name directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Henry Fonda, Dan O'Herlihy, and Walter Matthau. In 2000, the novel was adapted again for...
(novel 1962) (film 1964) (live-tv remake 2000) was a dramatic version of a similar accidental war that came out soon after. The War GameThe War GameThe War Game is a 1965 television documentary-style drama depicting the effects of nuclear war on Britain. Written, directed, and produced by Peter Watkins for the BBC's The Wednesday Play anthology series, it caused dismay within the BBC and in government and was withdrawn from television...
(BBC TV film, 1965) was a documentary-style film about the effects of nuclear war on EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
while Planet of the Apes (1963 novel, and five films 1968-1973) was about an Earth ruled by apes because of a nuclear war that eventually ended due to a nuclear bomb. Damnation AlleyDamnation Alley (film)Damnation Alley is a 1977 film, directed by Jack Smight, loosely based on the novel of the same name by Roger Zelazny. The original music score was composed by Jerry Goldsmith.-Plot:...
(1977) features a chilling launch and destruction sequence, followed by a trek across a ruined America; Taiyō o Nusunda OtokoTaiyo o Nusunda OtokoTaiyō o Nusunda Otoko , also known as The Man Who Stole the Sun, is a 1979 satirical film from Japan, directed by Hasegawa Kazuhiko and written by Leonard Schrader.-Plot:...
/ The Man Who Stole the Sun (1979), When the Wind Blows (British graphic novel 1982, animated film 1986). Special BulletinSpecial BulletinSpecial Bulletin is an American made-for-TV movie first broadcast in 1983. It was an early collaboration between director Edward Zwick and writer Marshall Herskovitz, a team that would later produce such series as thirtysomething and My So-Called Life...
was a 1983 made for TV movie about anti-nuclear activists detonating a home built nuclear device in Charleston, South Carolina.
- The Day AfterThe Day AfterThe Day After is a 1983 American television movie which aired on November 20, 1983, on the ABC television network. It was seen by more than 100 million people during its initial broadcast....
(1983) was a "made for TV" movie that became fodder for talk shows and commentary by politicians at the time due to its depiction of explosions on American soil and alleged political content. TestamentTestament (film)Testament is a drama film directed by Lynne Littman and starring Jane Alexander.The film tells the story of how one small suburban town near the San Francisco Bay Area slowly falls apart after a nuclear war destroys outside civilization....
(1983), another postwar vision; WarGamesWarGamesWarGames is a 1983 American Cold War suspense/science-fiction film written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes and directed by John Badham. The film stars Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy....
(1983), features a young computer hackerHacker (computer security)In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
who nearly starts World War Three when he inadvertently breaks into a fictional NORAD supercomputerSupercomputerA supercomputer is a computer at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation.Supercomputers are used for highly calculation-intensive tasks such as problems including quantum physics, weather forecasting, climate research, molecular modeling A supercomputer is a...
named WOPR (War Operation Plan Response) to play the latest video games; The TerminatorThe TerminatorThe Terminator is a 1984 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, co-written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr., and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, and Linda Hamilton. The film was produced by Hemdale Film Corporation and distributed by Orion Pictures, and filmed in Los...
(4 films, 1984, 1991, 2003, 2009) features a post-apocalyptic future (all James CameronJames CameronJames Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
films from 1986 through 1994 deal with nuclear explosions); Red DawnRed DawnRed Dawn is a 1984 American war film directed by John Milius and co-written by Milius and Kevin Reynolds. It stars Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, Charlie Sheen and Jennifer Grey....
(film, directed by John MiliusJohn MiliusJohn Frederick Milius is an American screenwriter, director, and producer of motion pictures.-Early life:Milius was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Elizabeth and William Styx Milius, who was a shoe manufacturer. Milius attempted to join the Marine Corps in the late 1960s, but was rejected...
) (1984), Mad MaxMad MaxMad Max is a 1979 Australian dystopian action film directed by George Miller and revised by Miller and Byron Kennedy over the original script by James McCausland. The film stars Mel Gibson, who was unknown at the time. Its narrative based around the traditional western genre, Mad Max tells a story...
(3 films, 1979–1985), Manhattan ProjectManhattan Project (film)The Manhattan Project is an American film, released in 1986. Named after the World War II-era program, the plot revolves around a gifted high school student who decides to construct a nuclear bomb for a national science fair. The film's underlying theme involves the Cold War of the 1980s when...
(1986, not about the Manhattan ProjectManhattan ProjectThe Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
), ThreadsThreadsThreads is a British television drama produced by the BBC in 1984. Written by Barry Hines and directed by Mick Jackson, it is a documentary-style account of a nuclear war and its effects on the city of Sheffield in northern England....
(BBC TV production made 1984, shown 1985), based on British government exercise Square LegSquare LegSquare Leg was a 1980 British government home defence exercise that assessed the effects of a Soviet nuclear attack. It was assumed that 131 nuclear weapons would fall on Britain with a total yield of 205 megatons...
, Project X (1987) which deals with animal testing on exposure to nuclear radiation, Miracle Mile (1988), Broken ArrowBroken Arrow (1996 film)Broken Arrow is a 1996 American action film directed by John Woo, written by Graham Yost, and starring John Travolta and Christian Slater. The original music score was composed by Hans Zimmer, and features guitarist Duane Eddy. It deals with the theft of an American nuclear weapon.The film received...
(1996) ("Broken Arrow" is military jargon for an accidental nuclear event, the event depicted in the film would actually be classified as Empty Quiver). - The James BondJames BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
films are also known to have plots surrounding nuclear weapons. Films like ThunderballThunderball (film)Thunderball is the fourth spy film in the James Bond series starring Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming, which in turn was based on an original screenplay by Jack Whittingham...
, The Spy Who Loved MeThe Spy Who Loved Me (film)The Spy Who Loved Me is a spy film, the tenth film in the James Bond series, and the third to star Roger Moore as the fictional secret agent James Bond. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and the screenplay was written by Christopher Wood and Richard Maibaum...
, Octopussy, Tomorrow Never DiesTomorrow Never DiesTomorrow Never Dies is the eighteenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the second to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Bruce Feirstein wrote the screenplay, and it was directed by Roger Spottiswoode. It follows Bond as he tries to stop a media mogul from engineering...
, and The World Is Not EnoughThe World Is Not EnoughThe World Is Not Enough is the nineteenth spy film in the James Bond film series, and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was directed by Michael Apted, with the original story and screenplay written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Bruce Feirstein. It...
involves a plot of nuclear warfare by the enemy, but in a lighter point of view (the weapons are never set off as Bond usually stops them last minute to add to the thrill of the film). In GoldfingerGoldfinger (film)Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title...
, the titular antagonist attempts to irradiate the US's national gold reserves with an atomic bomb, in order to increase the value of his own stockpile. - There have been a few fictionalized accounts of historical events relating to nuclear weapons as well. The Manhattan Project itself, for example, was depicted in both the 1989 theatrical film Fat Man and Little BoyFat Man and Little BoyFat Man and Little Boy is a 1989 film that reenacts the Manhattan Project, the secret Allied endeavor to develop the first nuclear weapons during World War II. The film is named after the nuclear weapons known by the code names "Fat Man" and "Little Boy". The code names can be taken for joking...
and, somewhat more in-depth, the CBS television film Day OneDay One (film)Day One is a made-for-TV documentary-drama movie about The Manhattan Project, the research and development of the atomic bomb during World War II. It is based on the book by Peter Wyden. The movie was written by David W. Rintels and directed by Joseph Sargent. It starred Brian Dennehy as General...
. - The second season of the television series 2424 (TV series)24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
involves MuslimMuslimA Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
terrorists smuggling a nuclear bomb across the Mexican border and planning to detonate it in Los Angeles. In the fourth season, after a series of terrorist attacks, a group of Islamic terrorists capture and launch a nuclear cruise missileCruise missileA cruise missile is a guided missile that carries an explosive payload and is propelled, usually by a jet engine, towards a land-based or sea-based target. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead over long distances with high accuracy...
at Los Angeles. The sixth season also involves nuclear weapons as a major theme, with a group of terrorists having access to five nuclear suitcase bombSuitcase bombA suitcase nuke is a tactical nuclear weapon which uses, or is portable enough that it could use, a suitcase as its delivery method. Synonyms include suitcase bomb, backpack nuke, mini-nuke, pocket nuke and snuke....
s. - Nuclear weapons, both conventional and "enhanced" (through the use of fictional advanced technology), are used in the feature film StargateStargate (film)Stargate is a 1994 American adventure-military science fiction film released through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Carolco Pictures. Created by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich, the film is the first release in the Stargate franchise...
and the related television series Stargate SG-1Stargate SG-1Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...
and Stargate AtlantisStargate AtlantisStargate Atlantis is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper as a spin-off series of Stargate SG-1, which was created by Wright and Jonathan Glassner and was itself...
. - The Tom ClancyTom ClancyThomas Leo "Tom" Clancy, Jr. is an American author, best known for his technically detailed espionage, military science, and techno thriller storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War, along with video games on which he did not work, but which bear his name for licensing and...
novel and movie The Sum of All FearsThe Sum of All FearsThe Sum of All Fears is the best-selling thriller novel by Dan Fogelman and Tom Clancy, and part of the Jack Ryan series. It was the fourth book of the series to be turned into a film. An interesting historical note is that this book was released just days before the Moscow uprising in 1991, which...
depicts a nuclear explosion caused by Islamic terrorists in Denver (novel) or by neo-Nazis in BaltimoreBaltimoreBaltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
(film). - The movie On The BeachOn the Beach (1959 film)On the Beach is a post-apocalyptic drama film based on Nevil Shute's 1957 novel of the same name. The film features Gregory Peck , Ava Gardner , Fred Astaire and Anthony Perkins...
is based around the premise of a nuclear war. In the original novel, the war starts as a "catalytic war" caused by Egyptian airmen destroying Washington, DC in Russian-built bombers, causing mistaken retaliation against the Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and a general nuclear exchange. In the 2000 Australian remakeOn the Beach (2000 film)On the Beach is an apocalyptic television movie released in 2000, airing originally on Showtime. It is a remake of the 1959 film, and is based on the 1957 novel by Nevil Shute. It starred Armand Assante, Bryan Brown, and Rachel Ward...
of On The Beach, a nuclear war is fought between the United States of America and the People's Republic of ChinaPeople's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
over a Chinese invasion of TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. - In the comic The Invisibles, writer Grant Morrison references Oppenheimer using the "Destroyer of Worlds" quote as a mystic phrase and using the moment of detonation as part of a magical ritual. The roleplaying game GURPSGURPSThe Generic Universal RolePlaying System, or GURPS, is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting...
Technomancer repeats this theme, depicting an alternate history where Oppenheimer unwittingly completes a necromantic ritual that releases magic back into the world at Trinity. The CBS Television Drama JerichoJericho (TV series)Jericho is an American action/drama series that centers on the residents of the fictional town of Jericho, Kansas, in the aftermath of nuclear attacks on 23 major cities in the contiguous United States...
(2006) focuses on a small town that is left without communications and basic necessities after a nuclear attack on major US cities. The film The Hills Have Eyes (2006) features a group of miner's descendants in the New Mexico desert, who have become genetically mutated due to the radiation caused by the atomic tests, and terrorize travelers in the area, who are lured to their mines in the hills by a gas station owner who profits from the victim's jewelry. - There have also been a number of plays set around the theme of nuclear weapons development. Michael FraynMichael FraynMichael J. Frayn is an English playwright and novelist. He is best known as the author of the farce Noises Off and the dramas Copenhagen and Democracy...
's Tony Award-winningTony Award for Best PlayThe Tony Award for Best Play is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theatre, including musical theatre, honoring productions on Broadway in New York. It currently takes place in mid-June each year.There was no award in the Tony's first year...
CopenhagenCopenhagen (play)Copenhagen is a play by Michael Frayn, based around an event that occurred in Copenhagen in 1941, a meeting between the physicists Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg. It debuted in London in 1998...
(1998), for example, contemplates the ethics and early history of nuclear weapons development through the eyes of the physicist Niels BohrNiels BohrNiels Henrik David Bohr was a Danish physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. Bohr mentored and collaborated with many of the top physicists of the century at his institute in...
, his wife Margarethe, and his former pupil Werner HeisenbergWerner HeisenbergWerner Karl Heisenberg was a German theoretical physicist who made foundational contributions to quantum mechanics and is best known for asserting the uncertainty principle of quantum theory...
. Swiss playwright Friedrich DürrenmattFriedrich DürrenmattFriedrich Dürrenmatt was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant-garde dramas, philosophically deep crime novels, and often macabre satire...
addressed the question of the responsibility of scientists in a post-Hiroshima world explicitly in his 1961 satire, Die PhysikerDie PhysikerThe Physicists is a satiric drama often recognized as the most impressive yet most easily understood work of the Swiss writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt...
. The rise-and-fall of American physicist and "father of the atomic bomb" J. Robert Oppenheimer has been the subject and inspiration of a number of plays—Heinar Kipphardt's In the Matter J. Robert Oppenheimer (1964) — and even an operaOperaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, Doctor AtomicDoctor AtomicDoctor Atomic is an opera by the contemporary American composer John Adams, with libretto by Peter Sellars. It premiered at the San Francisco Opera on 1 October 2005. The work focuses on the great stress and anxiety experienced by those at Los Alamos while the test of the first atomic bomb was...
(2005). - In Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), set in 1957, Indiana Jones finds himself in a nuclear test site in Nevada that has been set up to resemble a suburban area while being chased by Soviet soldiers. Realizing he has a matter of seconds before an atomic bomb detonates, he locks himself in a lead-lined refrigerator. The bomb flings the refrigerator a safe distance away, where Jones emerges without any serious injuries.
- The third episode of LostLost (TV series)Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
s fifth season, "JugheadJughead (Lost)"Jughead" is the third television episode of the fifth season of ABC's Lost. The 89th episode of the show overall, "Jughead" aired on January 28, 2009 on ABC in the United States, being simulcast on A in Canada...
," reveals that the United States military brought a hydrogen bomb called Jughead to the island in 1954; the military troops were killed by the OthersThe Others (Lost)The Others are a group of fictional characters who inhabit the mysterious island in the American television series Lost. Most serve as antagonists to the series' main characters, although more recently they seem less hostile to the survivors of Flight 815 and have become their allies to overcome...
and the bomb was seized. A time-traveling Daniel FaradayDaniel FaradayDr. Daniel Faraday, often referred to as Dan or simply by his surname, Faraday, is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Jeremy Davies. Faraday is introduced in the season four premiere as a physicist, suffering from memory loss, and is part of the team aboard the ...
convinces the Others that he is part of a military science team sent to defuse the bomb, which is leaking radioactive material, but eventually confides to one of their members that the bomb must be buried underground after being sealed with lead or concrete, explaining that he knows this will work because the island is still intact 50 years later, having never been destroyed in a nuclear blast. However, in 1977, the bomb was used in an attempt to stop the Incident, in the hope of changing the future. - In the movie Back to the FutureBack to the FutureBack to the Future is a 1985 American science-fiction adventure film. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson. The film tells the story of...
, Marty McFlyMarty McFlyMartin Seamus "Marty" McFly, Sr. is the protagonist in the Back to the Future film trilogy, and is portrayed by actor Michael J. Fox. Marty was also the protagonist in the animated series where he was voiced by David Kaufman...
, in 1955, is showing Doc Brown a video made in 1985 in which Marty and the future Doc Brown are wearing radiation suits. Doc Brown surmises that the radiation suits are worn to protect himself and Marty from the fallout "from all the nuclear wars" (presumably referring to the fact that the 1955 Doc Brown is living during the Cold War).
In literature and books
- The Secret of the SwordfishThe Secret of the SwordfishThe Secret of The Swordfish was the first story in the Blake and Mortimer comic book series by Edgar P. Jacobs. It describes how a far eastern empire takes over the world and the adventures of two Britons as they try to bring about the development of a weapon which will enable them to fight back...
— by Edgar P. Jacobs, first album of the Belgian comic stripFranco-Belgian comicsFranco-Belgian comics are comics that are created in Belgium and France. These countries have a long tradition in comics and comic books, where they are known as BDs, an abbreviation of bande dessinée in French and stripverhalen in Dutch...
Blake and MortimerBlake and MortimerBlake and Mortimer is a Belgian comics series created by the Belgian writer and comics artist Edgar P. Jacobs. It was one of the first series to appear in the Belgian comics magazine Tintin in 1946, and was subsequently published in book form by Les Editions du Lombard.The main protagonists of the...
, depicts a 20th century World WarWorld warA world war is a war affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations. World wars span multiple countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in multiple theaters....
in which a fictional Asian Empire ("Yellow Empire") nearly conquer the entire world. It ends with the destruction of the Yellow Empire capital city while the Emperor were planning to launch his nuclear weaponry. The Time Trap and The Strange EncounterThe Strange EncounterAnother connection is to Alex Rodson's "A Strange Encounter", where 12-year-old Carl Fern blackmails an alien in order to get the 'Ring of Power'. The Ring of Power enables him to turn into Demonflyte, Furocious, and Fryguy. The archvillain, Professor Steven Carp, is at first scared away but...
, later albums of Blake and Mortimer, deal with time-travels and a potential future where Earth is devastated by a nuclear war. - WatchmenWatchmenWatchmen is a twelve-issue comic book limited series created by writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colourist John Higgins. The series was published by DC Comics during 1986 and 1987, and has been subsequently reprinted in collected form...
- by Alan MooreAlan MooreAlan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
set in an alternative history where the USA and USSR edge dangerously close to nuclear war. - When the Wind Blows - a graphic novel for adults by children's author Raymond BriggsRaymond BriggsRaymond Redvers Briggs is an English illustrator, cartoonist, graphic novelist, and author who has achieved critical and popular success among adults and children...
which follows a retired couple in the days immediately after a thermonuclear war. - Arc LightArc LightArc Light is the debut novel by Eric L. Harry, a techno-thriller about limited nuclear war published in 1994 and written in 1991-2.As China and Russia clash in Siberia in June 1999, nuclear missiles strike the United States. The U.S. retaliates against Russia, and World War III begins...
- a techno-thriller by Eric L. Harry depicting a limited nuclear exchange between the United States and Russia. - "Emerald City Blues" - a short story by Steve BoyettSteve BoyettSteven R. Boyett, also known as DJ Steve Boyett, is a writer and disc jockey based in Northern California.-Early work:Boyett sold his first novel, Ariel, at the age of 21, and went on to publish The Architect of Sleep, The Gnole , Elegy Beach , as well as numerous short stories and novellas...
published in the Fall 1988 issue of Midnight Graffiti in which the horrors of nuclear war are made vivid by having an atom bomb dropped on OzLand of OzOz is a fantasy region containing four lands under the rule of one monarch.It was first introduced in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, one of many fantasy countries that he created for his books. It achieved a popularity that none of his other works attained, and after four years, he...
with the fallout killing Dorthy Gale. - Several novels by Dale BrownDale BrownDale Brown is an American author and aviator, most famous for his aviation techno-thriller novels, with thirteen New York Times best sellers to his name.Brown was born in Buffalo, New York...
feature nuclear weapons being employed. Among them are Sky Masters, in which a Chinese naval vessel uses a tactical nuclear weapon near Indonesia; Fatal TerrainFatal TerrainFatal Terrain is a 1997 novel written by Dale Brown. Patrick McLanahan, the airforce ace returns after his secret bombing missions over Iran in Shadows of Steel.- Plot :...
, in which China launches a nuclear attack on Taiwan; Chains of Command in which Russia attacks the Ukraine with nuclear weapons, and the Ukraine destroys a Russian bunker with a nuclear bomb and Plan of Attack, in which Russia destroys several US air bases with nuclear weapons. - The Japanese MangaMangaManga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
, Barefoot GenBarefoot Genis a Japanese manga series by Keiji Nakazawa. Loosely based on Nakazawa's own experiences as a Hiroshima survivor, the series begins in 1945 in and around Hiroshima, Japan, where the six-year-old boy Gen lives with his family...
written by Keiji NakazawaKeiji Nakazawais a Japanese manga artist and writer.He was born in Hiroshima and was in the city when it was destroyed by an atomic bomb in 1945. All of his family members who had not been evacuated died in the bombing except for his mother, and an infant sister who died several weeks after the bombing...
and adapted into an AnimeAnimeis the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
by the same name. Takes place in 1945 in and around Hiroshima, Japan, where the six-year-old boy Gen lives with his family. After Hiroshima is destroyed by atomic bombing, Gen and other survivors are left to deal with the aftermath. The story is loosely based on Nakazawa's own experiences as a Hiroshima survivor. - The Valley-Westside WarThe Valley-Westside WarThe Valley-Westside War is a 2008 young adult, alternate history novel by Harry Turtledove. It is the latest in the Crosstime Traffic series.-Background:...
— by Harry TurtledoveHarry TurtledoveHarry Norman Turtledove is an American novelist, who has produced works in several genres including alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction.- Life :...
. After a nuclear war between the USA and the USSR in 1967, L.A.'s San Fernando ValleySan Fernando ValleyThe San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
is reduced to a collection of primitive warring feudal states. - Halo: Ghosts of OnyxHalo: Ghosts of OnyxGhosts of Onyx is a novel by Eric Nylund, set in the universe of the Halo video game series and released on October 31, 2006. Ghosts of Onyx was the fourth Halo novel published, and Nylund's third contribution to the series...
— Kurt detonates two nuclear warheads, on Onyx. Also, a NOVA bomb (a bomb composed of multiple nukes in a special casing) destroys part of the Sangheili fleet. - Nineteen Eighty-FourNineteen Eighty-FourNineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a dystopian novel about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchical dictatorship of the Party...
, the novel by George OrwellGeorge OrwellEric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
, features Britain run by a dictatorship after a nuclear war that takes place in the 1950s. - C. S. LewisC. S. LewisClive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
's The Magician's NephewThe Magician's NephewThe Magician's Nephew is a fantasy novel for children written by C. S. Lewis. It was the sixth book published in his The Chronicles of Narnia series, but is the first in the chronology of the Narnia novels' fictional universe. Thus it is an early example of a prequel.The novel is initially set in...
features the "Deplorable WordDeplorable WordThe Deplorable Word, as used in The Magician's Nephew, by author C. S. Lewis, is a magical curse which ends all life in the fictional world of Charn except that of the one who speaks it. Lewis does not explicitly link the Deplorable Word to nuclear weapons, but he certainly makes allusions to the...
," apparently a thinly-veiled criticism of nuclear warfare. When said with the "proper ceremonies," it destroys all life forms in the world except the speaker. The only known speaker of the word is the White WitchWhite WitchJadis is the main antagonist of The Magician's Nephew and of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in C.S. Lewis' series, The Chronicles of Narnia...
, Jadis.
In art
The power and the visual effects of atomic weapons have inspired many artists. Some notable examples include:- Andy WarholAndy WarholAndrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
's silkscreen Atomic Bomb (1965) - James RosenquistJames RosenquistJames Rosenquist is an American artist and one of the protagonists in the pop-art movement.-Background and education:...
's F-111 (1964–65) - Gregory Green's mockups of atomic devices
- Jim Sanborn's mockups of atomic devices and historic experiments http://thebulletin.metapress.com/content/n645481v5p22843l/?p=5a3e45c8cc934b9ca45b6da0b727e1c9&pi=0
- James AcordJames AcordJames Leroy Acord was an artist who worked directly with radioactive materials. He attempted to create sculpture and events that probed the history of nuclear engineering and asked questions about the long-term storage of nuclear waste...
's efforts to use uranium in his sculptures - Tony PriceTony PriceTony Price was a junk artist, painter, sculptor, self-styled "Atomic Artist" and outspoken anti-nuclear activist.- Early life :Price was a born in Brooklyn, New York, who spent some time in the Marine Corps...
's antinuclear sculpture - Eugene Von BruenchenheinEugene Von BruenchenheinEugene Von Bruenchenhein was an American outsider artist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.His versatile body of work included over a thousand colorful apocalyptic landscape paintings; hundreds of sculptures made from chicken bones, ceramic and cast cement; pin-up style photos of his wife, Marie; plus...
's post-nuclear landscapes - Chesley BonestellChesley BonestellChesley Bonestell was an American painter, designer and illustrator. His paintings were a major influence on science fiction art and illustration, and he helped inspire the American space program...
's The H-Bomb Hits Lower New York
In music
Along with other forms of culture, there have been many songs related to the topic of nuclear weapons and warfare. Many of them have been protest songs or warning songs, while others use the motif as an allusion to great destruction in general.Some of the more famous nuclear war songs include: "99 Luftballons
99 Luftballons
"99 Luftballons" is a protest song by the German pop-rock band Nena from their 1983 self-titled album. Originally sung in German, it was later re-recorded in English as "99 Red Balloons" for their album 99 Luftballons in 1984...
" (1983) by the German group Nena
Nena
Gabriele Susanne Kerner , better known by her stage name Nena, is a German singer and actress. She rose to international fame in 1983 with the New German Wave song "99 Luftballons". In 1984, she re-recorded this song in English as "99 Red Balloons". Nena was also the name of the band with whom she...
, which depicts accidental nuclear war begun by an early-warning system identifying a group of balloons with enemy bombers or missiles; and Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall
A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall
"A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" is a song written by Bob Dylan in the summer of 1962. It was first recorded in Columbia Records' Studio A on 6 December 1962 for his second album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. The lyric structure is based on the question and answer form of the traditional ballad "Lord...
" (1963), which premiered shortly before the Cuban Missile Crisis. He also made reference to nuclear weapons in his song "With God on Our Side" released as the third track on his 1964 album The Times They Are a-Changin'
The Times They Are a-Changin'
The Times They Are a-Changin opens with the title track, one of Dylan's most famous songs. Dylan's friend, Tony Glover, recalls visiting Dylan's apartment in September 1963, where he saw a number of song manuscripts and poems lying on a table. "The Times They Are a-Changin'" had yet to be recorded,...
."But now we have weapons, of chemical dust...if fire them we're forced to...then fire them we must...".In many cases the allusions to nuclear war are not explicit, however. Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
's "Brighter than a Thousand Suns", on their album A Matter of Life and Death
A Matter of Life and Death (album)
A Matter of Life and Death is the fourteenth studio album by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 25 August 2006 in Italy and Finland, and 28 August worldwide, excluding the United States, Canada and Japan on 5 September 2006....
is a recent example. Steely Dan
Steely Dan
Steely Dan is an American rock band; its core members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop...
's "King of the World," on the album Countdown to Ecstasy
Countdown to Ecstasy
Countdown to Ecstasy is the second album by rock group Steely Dan, released in July 1973. The album was written and recorded in rushed sessions between live concerts and produced two Billboard Hot 100 hits, "Show Biz Kids" and "My Old School".-History:...
is an example of upbeat music and very downbeat lyrics which give a very bleak picture of the post-nuclear world.
Heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
as a genre has been concerned with nuclear warfare since the days of Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
. Their classics, "War Pigs
War Pigs
"War Pigs" is a song by British heavy metal band Black Sabbath from their 1970 album Paranoid. It is generally believed that the band wrote the song as a protest against the Vietnam War; however, when Sabbath played "War Pigs" in the mid-'70s, they projected scenes from World War II.As explained in...
" and "Electric Funeral
Electric Funeral
"Electric Funeral" is the fifth song from Black Sabbath's second album Paranoid, released in 1970. The song deals with nuclear war and its aftermath...
", respectively, are among the first metal songs to describe war, political corruption and atomic holocaust. In the early eighties, Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
wrote a number of songs which described nuclear war including "2 Minutes to Midnight
2 Minutes to Midnight
"2 Minutes to Midnight" is the second track from British heavy metal band Iron Maiden's fifth album Powerslave. It was released as the band's tenth single on 6 August 1984 and rose to number 11 in the UK Singles Chart and number 25 on Billboard Top Album Tracks.The song was written by Adrian Smith...
" (a song about the doomsday clock
Doomsday Clock
The Doomsday Clock is a symbolic clock face, maintained since 1947 by the board of directors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists at the University of Chicago. The closer the clock is to midnight, the closer the world is estimated to be to global disaster. , the Doomsday Clock now stands at six...
), and the aforementioned "Brighter than a Thousand Suns" to name a few. The theme continued in heavy metal through the early nineties, especially in the thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
subgenre. Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
wrote many popular songs about nuclear war and political corruption such as "Fight Fire with Fire", "...And Justice For All
...And Justice for All (song)
"...And Justice for All" is a song by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as a promo single from their album of the same name.-Song information:...
", and "Blackened
Blackened (song)
"Blackened" is a song by the American thrash metal band Metallica. It is the opening track on its fourth studio album, ...And Justice for All....
". Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
's name is taken from the term "megadeath," used to describe one million deaths from a nuclear weapon, and much of their album artworks and songs deal with nuclear war and weapons. Other thrash bands such as Sodom
Sodom (band)
Sodom is a German Thrash metal trio from Gelsenkirchen, formed in 1981.Along with the bands Kreator and Destruction, Sodom is considered one of the "big three" of Teutonic thrash metal...
and Anthrax
Anthrax (band)
Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. Founded by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker, the band has since released ten studio albums and 20 singles, and an EP featuring Public Enemy. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene...
also wrote a number of songs on the topic. The genre even inspired bands like Nuclear Assault
Nuclear Assault
Nuclear Assault is an American thrash metal/crossover thrash band formed in 1984.-History:After the release of Anthrax's debut album Fistful of Metal, bass player Danny Lilker, a founding member of the group, was fired by the band...
and Warbringer
Warbringer
Warbringer is an American thrash metal band. The band formed in 2004. Warbringer is signed to Century Media Records. Century Media signed Warbringer after seeing them at a local show in LA. Originally, a Century Media rep was at the show to see another LA thrash metal band but decided to sign...
to adopt the subject in their band names themselves. This trend also spread to Eastern European metal with popular Russian metal band Aria
Aria (band)
Aria is a Russian heavy metal band that was formed in 1985 in Moscow. Although it was not the first Soviet band to play Heavy music, Aria was the first to break through to mainstream media and commercial success. According to several public polls, Aria ranks among top 10 most popular Russian rock...
writing the song "Last Sunset" (Последний)
Among the many songs alluding to nuclear weapons and nuclear war in the 1980s was the song "Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project (song)
"Manhattan Project" is a 1985 song by Canadian progressive rock band Rush named for the WWII project that created the first atomic bomb. Lyricist Neil Peart read ten books about the Manhattan Project before writing the lyrics so that he had a proper understanding of what the project was really...
" (1985) by the band Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
, one of the few songs with copious literal references to historical events leading to the first nuclear weapons. Additionally the band has a song about the possibility of nuclear war entitled "Distant Early Warning
Distant Early Warning (song)
"Distant Early Warning" is a song by progressive rock band Rush from their 1984 album Grace Under Pressure. It is one of Rush's most well-known songs due to being featured on multiple compilation albums as well as many of their live albums....
", the video of which features nuclear-related imagery.
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are a synthpop group whose founding members are originally from the Wirral Peninsula, England...
's 1980 song Enola Gay
Enola Gay (song)
"Enola Gay" is a song by British synthpop band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark . It was written by frontman Andy McCluskey, and appears on the band's second album, Organisation . It was released as a 7" single on 26 September 1980...
depicts the events of the 1945 deployment of nuclear weapons on Hiroshima from the point of view of the crew of the B29 Superfortress Bomber Enola Gay
Enola Gay
Enola Gay is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, named after Enola Gay Tibbets, mother of the pilot, then-Colonel Paul Tibbets. On August 6, 1945, during the final stages of World War II, it became the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb as a weapon of war...
. Clear references are made to the exact time the bomb detonated ("It's eight fifteen, and that's the time that it's always been"), and questions are asked as to whether the action was necessary. The song also references a supposed radio message in which the crew detail no anomalies as a result of nuclear detonation ("We got your message on the radio - conditions normal and you're coming home"); the American government denied any rumours of radiation sickness associated with the dropping of the bombs.
Satirical artists such as Tom Lehrer
Tom Lehrer
Thomas Andrew "Tom" Lehrer is an American singer-songwriter, satirist, pianist, mathematician and polymath. He has lectured on mathematics and musical theater...
and "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
have drawn upon the motif of nuclear war for humor in their songs (as discussed below).
The album cover for the single "Teenagers
Teenagers (song)
"Teenagers" is the fourth single and the eleventh track from My Chemical Romance's third studio album, The Black Parade. It is the third U.S. single from the album, but it is the fourth single released in the UK, the Philippines, Australia and Canada...
" by My Chemical Romance
My Chemical Romance
My Chemical Romance is an American alternative rock band from New Jersey, formed in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, guitarists Ray Toro and Frank Iero, and bassist Mikey Way and have a diverse sound incorporating elements of punk, emo, glam metal, and progressive rock...
is a mushroom cloud. The image also appears in the video for the song.
The glam metal band Warrant released a song off their 1992 album Dog Eat Dog
Dog Eat Dog (Warrant album)
Dog Eat Dog was the third music album by American glam metal band Warrant. It was released on August 25, 1992 on the Columbia label of Sony Music. The album peaked at number 25 on The Billboard 200....
entitled "April 2031" which depicts life after a nuclear holocaust.
Ska punk band RX Bandits
Rx Bandits
RX Bandits is a four-piece band based in Seal Beach, California. The band formed in 1995 in Orange County, California. They have appeared on the Vans Warped Tour, at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and at The Bamboozle.-Early years :Originally known as...
make a reference to Nuclear War in their song "Nugget" with the line "Its 3 Years til I'm 24 and i don't wanna die in a Nuclear War"
Irish rock Legends U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
also named their 2004 album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb is the eleventh studio album by Irish rock band U2, released in November 2004. Much like their previous album, All That You Can't Leave Behind, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb was commercially successful and critically acclaimed and maintains a more traditional rock...
In addition, the band Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
produced a song titled Two Suns in the Sunset
Two Suns in the Sunset
"Two Suns in the Sunset" is the final song on Pink Floyd's 1983 concept album The Final Cut. Partway through the song, the lyric "the sun is in the east, even though the day is done" refers to the glowing fireball of a nuclear explosion....
, which indirectly referenced a nuclear attack. This song was the last of the predominantly war-themed album The Final Cut.
Linkin Park
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...
's 2010 album "A Thousand Suns
A Thousand Suns
A Thousand Suns is the fourth studio album by American rock band Linkin Park. It was first released on September 14, 2010. The album was written by the band and co-produced by Linkin Park vocalist Mike Shinoda and Rick Rubin, who previously worked together to produce Minutes to Midnight...
" deals with nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
and themes of war in general.
In comedy
- The comedian/lyricist Tom LehrerTom LehrerThomas Andrew "Tom" Lehrer is an American singer-songwriter, satirist, pianist, mathematician and polymath. He has lectured on mathematics and musical theater...
penned a number of humorous and well known songs relating to nuclear weapons. His song Who's Next? took up the issue of nuclear proliferationNuclear proliferationNuclear proliferation is a term now used to describe the spread of nuclear weapons, fissile material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information, to nations which are not recognized as "Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also known as the...
, chronicling the acquisition of nuclear weapons by various nations, then theorizing on "Who's Next," ending with LuxembourgLuxembourgLuxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
, MonacoMonacoMonaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
, and AlabamaAlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
becoming nuclear powers, while We Will All Go Together When We Go looked at the brighter side of nuclear holocaustNuclear holocaustNuclear holocaust refers to the possibility of the near complete annihilation of human civilization by nuclear warfare. Under such a scenario, all or most of the Earth is made uninhabitable by nuclear weapons in future world wars....
(not having to mourn over the death of others, since "When the air becomes uranious/ We will all go simultaneous"). It assumes that the entire planet will be instantaneously wiped clean by nuclear fire, and bypasses the much grimmer idea of radiation poisoningRadiation poisoningAcute radiation syndrome also known as radiation poisoning, radiation sickness or radiation toxicity, is a constellation of health effects which occur within several months of exposure to high amounts of ionizing radiation...
. A third song by Lehrer, "So Long Mom (A Song From World War III)", was introduced as existing because, "If any songs are going to come out of World War IIIWorld War IIIWorld War III denotes a successor to World War II that would be on a global scale, with common speculation that it would be likely nuclear and devastating in nature....
, we had better start writing them now," and tells the tale of a young soldier marching off to nuclear war, promising his mother that "Although I may roam, I'll come back to my home/ Although it may be a pile of debris" and also satirizing the likely extremely short duration of a major nuclear war ("And I'll look for you when the war is over/ An hour and a half from now!").
- "Weird Al" Yankovic"Weird Al" YankovicAlfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
also made a light hearted spin on nuclear annihilation in his song "Christmas at Ground ZeroChristmas At Ground Zero"Christmas at Ground Zero" is an original song by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is done in the style of The Ronettes' numerous 1960s-era Christmas carols, with bells and a saxophone section, and is one of Yankovic's darkest songs, alongside "The Night Santa Went Crazy" .The expression "ground zero" was...
", which describes "A Jolly Holiday underneath a Mushroom cloud".
In video games
- In the game "Tomb RaiderTomb RaiderTomb Raider is an action-adventure video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. It was originally released in 1996 for the Sega Saturn, with MS-DOS and PlayStation versions following shortly thereafter...
" the game's antagonist, Natla, is released from her prison by a nuclear weapons test. - In the game Mass EffectMass EffectMass Effect is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare for the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows by Demiurge Studios. The Xbox 360 version was released worldwide in November 2007 published by Microsoft Game Studios...
the player, Commander Shepard, uses a nuke to destroy an alien cloning facility. - In the game Missile CommandMissile CommandMissile Command is a 1980 arcade game by Atari, Inc. that was also licensed to Sega for European release. It is considered one of the most notable games from the Golden Age of Video Arcade Games...
the player must defend a city against a never ending series of incoming nuclear missiles. - Guerre Nucléaire (translates, from French, as Nuclear War) is an interactive fiction game. This text game is a simulation of a war between the USSR and USA.
- The Ace CombatAce CombatAce Combat is a hybrid arcade-simulation flight action video game series featuring 12 games, published by the Japanese company Namco Bandai Games...
Series featured nuclear strikes. Example: in Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan WarAce Combat Zero: The Belkan Waris a semi-realistic flight simulator developed by Namco for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It is part of the Ace Combat series of games...
, Belka, a fictional antagonist, detonated several nuclear warheads to fend off Allied troops. - Frontlines: Fuel of WarFrontlines: Fuel of WarFrontlines: Fuel of War is a first-person shooter game for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360. It was released February 25, 2008 in North America. It was produced by Kaos Studios...
includes the detonations of two tactical nuclear warheads to destroy American tank battalions. - Several RTS games have the possibility to use nuclear devices as "superweapons"; Command & Conquer seriesCommand & Conquer seriesCommand & Conquer is a video game franchise, mostly of the real-time strategy style as well as a first-person shooter game based on the former...
, Total AnnihilationTotal AnnihilationTotal Annihilation is a real-time strategy video game created by Cavedog Entertainment, a sub-division of Humongous Entertainment, and released on September 30, 1997 by GT Interactive for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. It was the first RTS game to feature 3D units and terrain...
, Supreme Commander, and Empire EarthEmpire EarthEmpire Earth, also known as EE, is a real-time strategy computer game developed by Stainless Steel Studios and released on November 23, 2001. It is the first game in the Empire Earth series...
are typical examples. - The 2006 game DEFCON by UK-based independent developer Introversion SoftwareIntroversion Software-History:The company was founded in 2001 by three friends, Chris Delay; Mark Morris; and Thomas Arundel, who met when they were undergraduates at Imperial College London...
puts the player in charge of one of six world territories in a situation which inevitably deteriorates to global thermonuclear war. The game uses a graphical and audio style which deliberately evokes images from films such as WarGamesWarGamesWarGames is a 1983 American Cold War suspense/science-fiction film written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes and directed by John Badham. The film stars Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy....
, cited by the developers as a major inspiration. With the sense that nuclear war is being commanded by distant generals in deep underground bunkers using abstract images, the game gives an unsettling impression of how popular culture imagined nuclear war would look to the people responsible for starting it. Because "Everybody Dies", DEFCON is extremely difficult to win, as all sides will inevitably suffer nuclear attack. In the game's terminology, the victor is the player who 'loses the least'. - The Civilization seriesCivilization (series)Civilization is a series of turn-based strategy, 4X video games produced by Sid Meier. Basic gameplay functions are similar throughout the series, namely, buiding a civilization on a macro-scale from prehistory up to the near future...
features nuclear weapons as a possible area of research in their extensive "tech trees." A player must construct their own version of the Manhattan ProjectManhattan ProjectThe Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
to unlock the construction of nuclear weapons; afterward all players with sufficient technology can build nuclear weapons. In all versions of Civilization the use of nuclear weapons destroys all units in the area that was attacked, pollutesPollutionPollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
the surrounding area, and contributes to global warmingGlobal warmingGlobal warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
. A nuclear attack on or near a city decreases the population of the city rather than annihilating it (Civilization RevolutionCivilization RevolutionCivilization Revolution is a 2008 iteration of Civilization developed by Firaxis with Sid Meier as designer for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, and iOS. A Wii version was originally expected but was put on indefinite hold...
has a single ICBM which can destroy cities). - The FalloutFallout seriesFallout is a series of post-apocalyptic role-playing games published by Interplay Entertainment and later by Bethesda Softworks. Although the series is set during the 22nd and 23rd centuries, its retrofuturistic story and artwork are influenced by the post-war culture of 1950s America, and its...
series of computer games contains numerous direct and indirect allusions to nuclear warNuclear warfareNuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
s and potential nuclear holocaustNuclear holocaustNuclear holocaust refers to the possibility of the near complete annihilation of human civilization by nuclear warfare. Under such a scenario, all or most of the Earth is made uninhabitable by nuclear weapons in future world wars....
, with a distinct 1950s cold warCold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
style. The games themselves are set in a post-nuclear war wasteland, and the main character of the first game is a 'Vault Dweller', a survivor from a self-contained nuclear shelterBunkerA military bunker is a hardened shelter, often buried partly or fully underground, designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks...
. The first two games contain devices resembling the Trinity "Gadget" as central plot elements, and during one of the main quests in Fallout 3Fallout 3Fallout 3 is an action role-playing game released by Bethesda Game Studios, and the third major installment in the Fallout series. The game was released in North America, Europe and Australia in October 2008, and in Japan in December 2008 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360...
, the player must decide whether to detonate or disarm a nuclear bomb resembling the Fat ManFat Man"Fat Man" is the codename for the atomic bomb that was detonated over Nagasaki, Japan, by the United States on August 9, 1945. It was the second of the only two nuclear weapons to be used in warfare to date , and its detonation caused the third man-made nuclear explosion. The name also refers more...
in the center of a town called "Megaton." - The game Balance of Power, written by Chris CrawfordChris Crawford (game designer)Christopher Crawford is a computer game designer and writer noted for creating a number of important games in the 1980s, founding The Journal of Computer Game Design, and organizing the Computer Game Developers' Conference.- Biography :...
and published in 1985 puts the player in the position of the President of the United StatesPresident of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
or the General SecretaryGeneral Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet UnionGeneral Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the title given to the leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. With some exceptions, the office was synonymous with leader of the Soviet Union...
of the Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, with the goal of increasing "prestige", balanced out by the need to avoid a nuclear war, which ends the game. - TrinityTrinity (computer game)Trinity is an interactive fiction computer game written by Brian Moriarty and published in 1986 by Infocom. It is widely regarded as one of the company's best works....
was a text adventure game that featured a plotline involving time travel to various sites related to nuclear weapons. The title refers to the Trinity testTrinity testTrinity was the code name of the first test of a nuclear weapon. This test was conducted by the United States Army on July 16, 1945, in the Jornada del Muerto desert about 35 miles southeast of Socorro, New Mexico, at the new White Sands Proving Ground, which incorporated the Alamogordo Bombing...
site. - In the StarCraft seriesStarCraft (series)StarCraft is a military science fiction media franchise created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney, and owned by Blizzard Entertainment. The series centers on a galactic struggle for dominance between three species—the adaptable and mobile Terrans, the insectoid Zerg, and the enigmatic Protoss—in a...
, the Terran can construct laser-guided nuclear missiles for Ghost units to deploy. Several locations in StarCraft'sStarCraftStarCraft is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. The first game of the StarCraft series was released for Microsoft Windows on 31 March 1998. With more than 11 million copies sold worldwide as of February 2009, it is one of the best-selling...
backstory were affected by nuclear attacks prior to the events of the game. - In Nuclear StrikeNuclear strikeNuclear strike may refer to:* Nuclear warfare* An installation in the Strike series of video games* "Nuclear Strike", an episode of the BBC television series Spooks...
, the third level begins in Pyongyang, North Korea. It is revealed that a nuclear bomb has been smuggled inside Kim Il-sung's giant statue at Mansudae Hill and the player has to escort as many diplomats out of the city as possible before the bomb detonates. - In the Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
strategy game World in ConflictWorld in ConflictWorld in Conflict, or WiC, is a real-time tactical video game developed by the Swedish video game company Massive Entertainment and published by Ubisoft for Microsoft Windows. The game was released in September 2007...
, the United States uses tactical nuclear weaponry to halt the advance of the Soviet Union in America. The weapons are also available in multiplayer games. - The Metal Gear SolidMetal Gear Solidis a videogame by Hideo Kojima. The game was developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and first published by Konami in 1998 for the PlayStation video game console. It is the sequel to Kojimas early MSX2 computer games Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake...
Series by KonamiKonamiis a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
, revolves around Metal Gear, a weapon described as a giant solo-operating tank capable of firing nuclear missiles at any target on the planet's surface. - In Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake EaterMetal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eateris an award-winning stealth action video game directed by Hideo Kojima. Snake Eater was developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2, and was released on November 17, 2004 in North America; December 16, 2004 in Japan; March 4, 2005 in Europe; and on...
the primary antagonist, Colonel Volgin, obtains two M-388 Davy Crockett nuclear rifles. He then uses one of them to destroy half of a forest and cover up the theft. - Several games, including Fallout 3Fallout 3Fallout 3 is an action role-playing game released by Bethesda Game Studios, and the third major installment in the Fallout series. The game was released in North America, Europe and Australia in October 2008, and in Japan in December 2008 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360...
, the Ratchet and Clank series, the Unreal series, and Mass Effect 2Mass Effect 2Mass Effect 2 is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 on January 26, 2010 and for PlayStation 3 on January 18, 2011...
feature a tactical nuclear missile or grenade launcher that the player can find (or upgrade to) and use. This seems to be a reference to the real-life man-portable Davy Crockett tactical nuclear weapon. - The Soviets in both Command & Conquer: Red AlertCommand & Conquer: Red AlertCommand & Conquer: Red Alert is a real-time strategy computer game of the Command & Conquer franchise, produced by Westwood Studios and released by Virgin Interactive in...
and Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 is a 2.5D real-time strategy computer game by Westwood Studios, which was released for Microsoft Windows on October 23, 2000 as the follow-up to Command & Conquer: Red Alert. Set in the early 1970s, Red Alert 2 supposedly picks up at the conclusion of the Allied...
, the Brother of Nod in Command & Conquer and Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium WarsCommand & Conquer 3: Tiberium WarsCommand & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed and published by Electronic Arts for the Windows, Mac OS X and Xbox 360 platforms, and released internationally in March 2007...
, and the Chinese in Generals can launch small tactical missiles to destroy key units and buildings, although the destruction is nowhere near its real-life counterpart. However, in Red Alert one mission requires the player prevent a strategic nuclear strikeStrategic nuclear weaponA strategic nuclear weapon refers to a nuclear weapon which is designed to be used on targets as part of a strategic plan, such as nuclear missile bases, military command centers and heavily populated civilian areas such as large towns and cities....
on Paris, and in Red Alert 2, the Soviets successfully destroy Chicago with a large nuclear bomb. In the game's expansion pack, Yuri's Revenge, the main villain nukes Seattle, Washington several times to extort money from a computer corporation. In a mod for C&C Generals Zero Hour, called 2015, Waste Land Conflict, the game features a nuke that is very realistic in damage and creates an EMP wave. - In Call of Duty 4: Modern WarfareCall of Duty 4: Modern WarfareCall of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a 2007 first-person shooter video game, developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii. A handheld game was made for the Nintendo DS. The game was released in North America, Australia, and...
, a group of the warlord Al-Asad's forces in a fictional Middle EastMiddle EastThe Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
ern country under occupation by the USMCUnited States Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
detonate a Russian nuclear warhead, annihilating themselves, the capital city and nearly the entire invading US Marine force. Later in the game, the USMC must work together with the SASSpecial Air ServiceSpecial Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
to stop two SS-27 Topol MRT-2UTTH Topol MThe RT-2UTTKh «Topol-M» is one of the most recent intercontinental ballistic missiles to be deployed by Russia , and the first to be developed after the dissolution of the Soviet Union....
missiles, loaded with MIRVMultiple independently targetable reentry vehicleA multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle warhead is a collection of nuclear weapons carried on a single intercontinental ballistic missile or a submarine-launched ballistic missile . Using a MIRV warhead, a single launched missile can strike several targets, or fewer targets redundantly...
s, sent by the RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n ultranationalist forces, from destroying eight USUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
cities: Boston, HartfordHartford, ConnecticutHartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
, New YorkNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Philadelphia, RichmondRichmond, VirginiaRichmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, NorfolkNorfolk, VirginiaNorfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
- which would kill more than 40 million people. - In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 video game consoles and the Microsoft Windows operating system. Officially announced on February 11, 2009, the game was released worldwide on...
, Captain Price launches a nuclear missile out of a nuclear submarine - however, instead of attacking land, he detonates it in the stratosphere, destroying the International Space StationInternational Space StationThe International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
and creating an electro-magnetic pulse throughout the eastern seaboard of the United States. Also, in multiplayer, a person that has received 25 kills (or 24 with the second tier perk hardline) without dying can call in a tactical nuke to end the game. - In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is a first-person shooter video game, developed by Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games, with Raven Software having assisted in development...
, the game's antagonist, Vladimir MakarovVladimir MakarovVladimir Vasilevich Makarov was a Soviet footballer. Makarov played for clubs in Tajikistan and Ukraine from 1969 to 1977. For the last two years of his life, he starred at Pakhtakor Tashkent as a forward in 1978 and 1979, before he died in a mid-air plane crash in August 1979. He was...
, captures the Russian premier in an attempt to extract Russia's nuclear launch codes from him. - In Tom Clancy's EndWarTom Clancy's EndWarTom Clancy's EndWar is a real-time tactics game designed by Ubisoft Shanghai for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows platforms. The Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable versions feature turn-based tactics instead of the real-time tactics of their console counterparts...
Saudi Arabia and Iran have destroyed each other with nuclear weapons, setting the basis for the storyline of the game. - In Rise of Nations: Thrones and PatriotsRise of Nations: Thrones and PatriotsRise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots is the official expansion pack to the real-time strategy computer game Rise of Nations. The game is the second in a series of Rise of Nations games by Big Huge Games. Thrones and Patriots had its premiere release for Microsoft Windows on April 27, 2004 in North...
you can access nuclear missiles once you are at an advanced enough age. Each launched nuke reduces the so called "Armageddon timer" by 1, and when it reaches zero, the game instantly ends with "Armageddon", causing every player to lose the game. (Simulating the effects of a nuclear winter) - In the popular HaloHalo (series)Halo is a multi-million dollar science fiction video game franchise created by Bungie and now managed by 343 Industries and owned by Microsoft Studios. The series centers on an interstellar war between humanity and a theocratic alliance of aliens known as the Covenant...
franchise of video games and novels, nuclear weapons are used in both space and land combat. - In Warhammer 40,000Warhammer 40,000Warhammer 40,000 is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop, set in a dystopian science fantasy universe. Warhammer 40,000 was created by Rick Priestley in 1987 as the futuristic companion to Warhammer Fantasy Battle, sharing many game mechanics...
, nuclear weapons are used to cause widespread damage to a planet (the methods collectively being called an "Exterminatus", a mass execution of a population through futuristic weapons) and in combat. The nukes must be properly arranged in orbit to create a global firestorm. - In Mercenaries 2, the main objective of the player is to obtain a Nuclear bunker busterNuclear bunker busterBunker-busting nuclear weapons, also known as earth-penetrating weapons , are a type of nuclear weapon designed to penetrate into soil, rock, or concrete to deliver a nuclear warhead to a target. These weapons would be used to destroy hardened, underground military bunkers buried deep in the ground...
to penetrate the main enemy's hardened bunker (after which the bomb can be purchased and used according to the player's wishes). - In SporeSpore (2008 video game)Spore is a multi-genre single-player god game developed by Maxis and designed by Will Wright. The game was released for the Microsoft Windows and Macintosh operating systems in September 2008 as Spore...
s Civilization stage, militaristic nations may use two types of nuclear weapon once certain prerequisites have been fulfilled - the Gadget Bomb, which can wipe out all structures of a city and capture it instantly, and the ICBM, which can be used to wipe out every nation on the planet simultaneously, winning the stage. The Gadget Bomb severely impacts international relations, and both weapons produce indestructible radioactive rubble. - The RTS game Warzone 2100Warzone 2100Warzone 2100 is an open source real-time strategy and real-time tactics hybrid computer game, originally developed by Pumpkin Studios and published by Eidos Interactive...
is set after a nuclear holocaust initiated by an intelligent computer virus known as Nexus. - In the RTS Supreme Commander and its expansion pack Forged Alliance, all of the factions have strategic nuclear missiles. In addition, many nuclear powered units explode with the blast of one.
- In the RTS War Front: Turning PointWar Front: Turning PointWar Front: Turning Point is an alternate reality real-time strategy computer game set in World War II. It was developed by Digital Reality, and published by CDV and released in the United States on 19 February and Europe on 23 March 2007 for the PC....
, the Allied faction's super weapon is a small nuclear bomb dropped from a Northrop YB-35Northrop YB-35The Northrop XB-35 and YB-35 were experimental heavy bomber aircraft developed for the United States Army Air Forces during and shortly after World War II by the Northrop Corporation. It used the radical and potentially very efficient flying wing design, in which the tail section and fuselage are...
, that unleashes a small sized yet long lasting damaging blast. - In the ThirdWire series of combat flight simulators (Strike Fighters: Project 1Strike Fighters: Project 1Strike Fighters: Project 1 is a PC game that primarily centers on a fictitious conflict in the Middle East between the Kingdom of Dhimar and the Empire of Paran from the late 1950s to the early 1970s...
, and the games descended from it) there are several downloadable modification which allow the player to use nuclear weapons. Free falling bombs, air to surface missiles, air to air missiles, and air to air rockets are covered in these modifications. American, British, Russian and French weapons are provided (with the range of American weapons being the most comprehensive). A variety of effects packages are available to provide the appropriate visual representation of the nuclear explosion. Several of aircraft in the ThirdWire series were either designed as, or came to be used as nuclear weapons carrying aircraft including the F-101 VoodooF-101 VoodooThe McDonnell F-101 Voodoo was a supersonic military jet fighter which served the United States Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force...
, F-89 ScorpionF-89 ScorpionThe Northrop F-89 Scorpion was an early American jet-powered fighter designed from the outset as an all-weather interceptor. Though its straight wings limited its performance, it was among the first USAF jet fighters with guided missiles, and notably the first combat aircraft armed with air-to-air...
, and B-29 SuperfortressB-29 SuperfortressThe B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
. - In the games Syphon Filter: The Omega StrainSyphon Filter: The Omega StrainSyphon Filter: The Omega Strain is the fourth installment of the Syphon Filter series. As a sequel to Syphon Filter 3, it is the first game in the series to be released on the PlayStation 2.-Gameplay:...
and the original Syphon FilterSyphon FilterSyphon Filter is a stealth-based third-person shooter video game for the PlayStation released in 1999. It is the first game in the Syphon Filter series. It was re-released on December 4, 2006, on the PlayStation Network for use on the PSP...
both end with either the player or Gabe Logan having to disarm a nuclear missile. - In the game Nuclear War, a turn-based strategy game, the player takes part of a satirical and cartoonish nuclear battle between five world powers.
- In the game Splinter Cell: Double Agent the is a possible ending with two events where the player must disarm a nuclear bomb, one in the JBA headquarters, another on a boat. One of the mission failure scenes shows New York City being destroyed in an explosion.
- In Metroid Prime 3: CorruptionMetroid Prime 3: CorruptionMetroid Prime 3: Corruption is a first-person action-adventure game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. It is the tenth game in the Metroid series, and the final entry in the Metroid Prime trilogy—excluding two spin-off titles. It was released in...
, a mission requires Samus Aran, the game's main protagonist, to use her ship to collect 3 pieces of a thermonuclear bomb needed to break a force field blocking her way to a boss fight. - In Twisted Metal 4Twisted Metal 4Twisted Metal 4 is a vehicular combat video game developed by 989 Studios and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation...
, the playable character Calypso drives a truck where its special attack is to launch the nuclear missile it carries. - In a few Shin Megami TenseiShin Megami Tenseiis a console role-playing video game from Atlus that was originally released on October 30, 1992 and later on several platforms, although no installment was released outside of Japan. It was originally released on the Super Famicom and was later ported to the PC Engine Super CD-Rom and Mega-CD...
titles, nuclear weapons have destroyed the world and became responsible for creating a dimensional rift that allowed demons to cross over. - The flight simulator F/A 18 Korea Gold includes nuclear strike missions using the B61 tactical thermonuclear weaponB61 nuclear bombThe B61 nuclear bomb is the primary thermonuclear weapon in the U.S. Enduring Stockpile following the end of the Cold War. It is an intermediate yield strategic and tactical nuclear weapon featuring a two-stage radiation implosion design....
.
See also
- Atomic ageAtomic AgeThe Atomic Age, also known as the Atomic Era, is a phrase typically used to delineate the period of history following the detonation of the first nuclear bomb Trinity on July 16, 1945...
- List of apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
- List of nuclear holocaust fiction
- Nuclear holocaustNuclear holocaustNuclear holocaust refers to the possibility of the near complete annihilation of human civilization by nuclear warfare. Under such a scenario, all or most of the Earth is made uninhabitable by nuclear weapons in future world wars....
- Nuclear optimism
- World War III in popular cultureWorld War III in popular cultureWorld War III is a common theme in popular culture. Since the 1940s, countless books, films, and television programmes have used the theme of nuclear weapons and a third global war. The presence of the Soviet Union as an international rival armed with nuclear weapons created a persistent fear in...
- SurvivalismSurvivalismSurvivalism is a movement of individuals or groups who are actively preparing for future possible disruptions in local, regional, national, or international social or political order...
/Survivalism in fictionSurvivalism in fictionPortrayals of survivalism, and survivalist themes and elements such as survival retreats have been fictionalised in print, film, and electronic media. This genre was especially influenced by the advent of nuclear weapons, and the potential for societal collapse in light of a Cold War nuclear...
External links
- The Federation of American Scientists Web page on the letter from aviation historian Chuck Hansen to Senator Charles Percy on open-literature knowledge about the design of thermonuclear weapons prior to Howard Morland's article in the Progressive magazine which the US Department of Energy sought to suppress in a 1979 court case
- US Department of Energy document RDD-8, "Restricted Data Declassification Decisions - 1946 to the Present", the official account of which nuclear weapons design information has been or should be declassified and placed in the public domain.
- The Federation of American Scientists Web page on the Kidder-Bethe correspondence on the US v. Progressive magazine, et al case, in which nuclear weapons designer Ray Kidder lists several open literature sources available before 1978 which may have revealed how radiation implosion works in thermonuclear weapon secondary and inter stages.
- "The Bomb Project", includes section relating to nuclear imagery in art
- Top 10 "NUKES of HOLLYWOOD" Moments, a countdown list of nuclear explosions in Hollywood movies.
- "Conelrad", a sardonic look at the Cold War culture of the fifties and sixties
- "Nuke Pop", page on nuclear weapons in popular culture by Paul Brians, a professor of English at Washington State University
- Ground Zero: A Javascript simulation of the effects of a nuclear explosion in a city
- Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in Fiction, By Paul Brians, Professor of English, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington
- Annotated bibliography on nuclear weapons in popular culture from the Alsos Digital Library