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''Duck and Cover'' was a short educational Film produced in 1951 by the United States Federal Government 's Civil Defense branch shortly after the Soviet Union began Nuclear Testing . Written by Raymond J. Mauer and directed by Anthony Rizzo of Archer Productions and made with the help of schoolchildren from New York City and Astoria , New York , it was shown in schools as the cornerstone of the government's " Duck And Cover " public awareness campaign. The movie states that Nuclear War could happen at any time without warning, and for U.S. Citizens to keep this constantly in mind and be ever ready. SUMMARY The film starts with an Animated Sequence , showing an Anthropomorphic Turtle walking down the road. A Chorus sings the ''Duck and Cover'' theme: ''There was a turtle by the name of Bert'' While this goes on, Bert is attacked by a Monkey holding a string from which hangs a lighted Firecracker . Bert ducks into his shell in the nick of time, as the firecracker goes off and blows up both the monkey and the tree he is sitting in. Bert, however, is shown perfectly safe, because he has ducked and covered. The film, which is about 10 minutes long, then switches to Live Footage , as a narrator explains what children should do "when you see the flash" of an Atomic Bomb . The movie goes on to suggest that by ducking down low in the event of a Nuclear Explosion , the children would be safer than they would be standing, and explains some basic survival tactics for nuclear war. The US government contracted with Archer to produce ''Duck and Cover'' {Link without Title} , and the film is now in the Public Domain . PURPOSE After Nuclear Weapon s were developed, (the first having been developed during the Manhattan Project during World War II ) it was realized what kind of danger they posed. The United States held a Nuclear Monopoly from the end of the World War II until 1949 , when the Soviets detonated their first nuclear device. This signaled the beginning of the nuclear stage of the Cold War , and as a result, strategies for survival were thought out. Fallout Shelter s, both private and public, were built, but the government still viewed it as necessary to explain to citizens both the danger of the atomic (and later, Hydrogen ) bombs, and to give them some sort of training so that they would be prepared to act in the event of a Nuclear Strike . The solution was the duck and cover campaign, of which ''Duck and Cover'' was an integral part. Shelters were built, drills were held in towns and schools, and the film was shown to schoolchildren. According to the United States Library Of Congress (which declared the film "historically significant" and inducted it for preservation into the National Film Registry in 2004), it "was seen by millions of schoolchildren in the 1950s." CONTROVERSY
Part of the problem in communicating to the public how to deal with atomic weapons was that most civilians had never dealt with anything on the scale of magnitude as an atomic explosion before. Thus, the movie says, "you will see a bright flash, brighter than the Sun , brighter than anything you have ever seen", and that the flash is much, much worse than a Sunburn . Also, some critics claim that the scene starting at 1:32 and ending at 1:39 is Racist as the control voice says, "We all know that the atomic bomb is very dangerous since it may be used against us we must get ready for it, ''just as we are ready for many other dangers that are around us all the time''" while the camera is centered on a black student in the class. As the film was made in 1951 the critics' claim is possible as the Civil Rights movement was merely just beginning and the pre-civil rights Racialist era and culture was still very much alive.
IN UNITED STATES CULTURE '' parody of ''Duck and Cover''.]] Although duck-and-cover drills are no longer held in United States schools and most fallout shelters have been closed down or abandoned, ''Duck and Cover'', which was shown to an entire generation of children, is referenced in television shows and movies, usually for comedic effect. The ''Duck and Cover'' film is considered an example of high Camp .
In something of a Special Case , a ''Duck and Cover'' clip also appears in the final episode of the 2005 season of the ''Canadian'' television show '' ZeD ''. SEE ALSO
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