Lecture: The Atomic Bomb in Cinema (Kevin Toma)
Dutch-language lecture by film journalist Kevin Toma on the atomic bomb in film.
The grim consequences of radioactive radiation, atomic bombs falling into the wrong hands, the end of the world ushered in by nuclear missiles: after the Second World War, world cinema kept returning to these themes for a long time. From horror and science fiction to war dramas and monster movies, directors speculated abundantly about the nuclear future that might await us. With the fall of communism, they seemed to have become the subjects of a bygone era, but now that the global nuclear threat has increased dramatically with the war in Ukraine, it may make sense to look back at those films.
On the occasion of the release of Christopher Nolan’s OPPENHEIMER, Volkskrant film journalist Kevin Toma will be looking at some of the film classics of the atomic era, to explore what these films share (or don't share) when it comes to the depiction of the atomic bomb. How do they face both the fear and fascination of the Bomb? Toma looks for answers in fascinating film clips.