Duck and Cover

<p> During the 1950s and early 1960s school air-raid drills bomb shelters and unnerving civil defense films served as constant reminders of the looming threat of nuclear war. Throughout America a widespread civil defense effort used town meetings public school educational programs and the mass media--television radio and especially motion pictures--to mobilize every citizen for a protracted Cold War. This volume explores how American popular culture has portrayed civil defense from mid-twentieth century to the immediate post-September 11 era. With analysis of everything from early government propaganda films and 1950s science fiction films to <I>Happy Days</I> the Reagan-era TV movie <I>The Day After</I> and the small-screen nostalgia trend after 9/11 it shows how popular culture reflects American fears and the hope of preparedness.</p>