Post #12 – Duck and Cover

The United States was dominated by paranoia and fear during the Cold War. The public was deeply suspicious of communists, or those with left-leaning or socialist tendencies. Nuclear war was especially troubling to many Americans. One way the government aimed to combat the terror of nuclear war was make animated PSAs like “Duck and Cover” to try to educate the public on self-protection. Although “Duck and Covering” offered only marginal protection, the purpose was to make feel Americans feel like they could protect themselves from nuclear attacks.

During the Cold War, suspicions between the United States and Soviet Union ran extremely high. Nuclear strategy of the time revolved around the doctrine of mutually assured destruction, or MAD. The idea was that if both sides knew that if they initiated nuclear combat, they would be completely obliterated by the other side’s remaining stockpile. There were many different techniques and theories over how to gain the advantage in a war like this and preserve the country, but the principal effect of MAD was that it discouraged unnecessary usage of nuclear weapons. If a war was to occur, however, the enemy would be likely to try to destroy as many large cities as possible.

People living in the United States during this time were deeply threatened by the possibility of nuclear war. Since a Soviet attack would likely bring ruin to many large American cities, they lived day-to-day knowing that it was possible that they could be obliterated in a second. How can the government protect against these fears?

The answer was that, really, they couldn’t do much, at least nothing of a practical nature. Enter “Duck and Cover”. When you ducked down and covered your head, your were supposed to be protected from the dangers of an atomic blast. Of course, people living in the immediate vicinity of a nuclear explosion would be incinerated in the blast, whether they were standing, sleeping, running, or ducking and covering. To a certain extent it would protect people located further away from the blast from flying debris and collapse, but there wasn’t really any reliable way to physically protect oneself from a nuclear blast.

The government knew “Duck and Cover” wouldn’t actually prevent people from being injured in a nuclear attack. It was more of a psychological aide. The government couldn’t just outright tell people that there was nothing they could do – people would panic. How could people feel safe if they government said this? Telling the people to “duck and cover” would at least help some people feel a little safer and in control of what their lives. They actual results of the Cold War would be determined by politicians, but the people could feel like they were able to protect themselves from whatever happened.

The “Duck and Cover” animation itself (embedded above) is very telling of the way the government wanted the public feel. The visuals and music are extremely cheerful and serene, like watching Winnie the Pooh. There is no looming sense of danger, as one would expect during a nuclear crisis. The turtle ducking is completely self-assured and never doubts himself. There is no mention in this film that ducking won’t be effective in the immediate vicinity of an explosion. It’s portrayed as being 100% effective and simple.

In retrospect, the ideas behind “Duck and Cover” seem a bit silly. Many jokes have been cracked at the expense of the program. It’s a rediculous idea that someone can protect themselves from a ICBM by ducking and covering. Despite the implausible nature of “Duck and Cover”, the public was given at least some psychological control over the possibility of nuclear war.

i commented on Myca (current awaiting moderation as of the time of this posting) and Bonnie‘s posts this week.

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