Bert the Turtle and the Cold War

    In an era where nuclear bombing was a realistic threat, the United States government tried its best to prepare civilians for this potential case. As a result, they produced multiple films and comics that showed what to do in the unlikely case of a nuclear attack. One film involved Bert the Turtle who was an animated character in a film called Duck and Cover designed to demonstrate what children should do in case of a nuclear attack.

Duck and Cover was produced in 1951 by Archer Productions and the Federal Civil Defense Administration.  Additionally, the film played an upbeat type of music to kind of downplay the destructive capabilities of these deadly weapons. Another way the government tried to mitigate this scary scenario was by introducing a child-friendly character. That is why they made Bert the Turtle because he could easily capture the attention of school children. Since turtles duck and cover in face of danger children were supposed to mimic Bert's actions by taking cover under their desks. Essentially, this film taught children how to attempt to protect themselves from a nuclear attack in a fun way that wouldn't make them scared. It also taught children how to protect themselves even if there was no cover by putting a coat over their heads and necks.

However, while these actions could potentially save your life, the fact of the matter is that you would most likely be killed if an atomic bomb went off. But it was an admirable effort by the United States to avoid large scale paranoia especially because they had just gotten out of the McCarthyism era. We may now look back at this film and laugh at it but the fact that you faced the danger of being nuked at any time is scary when you think about it.





http://www.historyisnowmagazine.com/blog/2014/3/28/duck-and-cover-the-infamous-cold-war-civil-defense-film#.Xies_JNKiu4=

http://www.historyisnowmagazine.com/blog/2014/3/28/duck-and-cover-the-infamous-cold-war-civil-defense-film#.Xies_JNKiu4=