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Subjects (65)
National Security and Defence (33)

Nuclear Age and the Cold War (3)

  • After the Big One: Nuclear War on the Prairies
    After the Big One: Nuclear War on the Prairies
    Bob Lower 1983 23 min
    This film deals straightforwardly with the consequences of a nuclear attack for the Canadian Prairies. The Prairies are singled out because of their proximity to huge stockpiles of intercontinental ballistic missiles located in North Dakota. Scenes include a visit to a missile base and to an emergency government bunker in Manitoba. A doctor, a farmer and a civil defence coordinator provide different perspectives on nuclear war. Although the film focuses on one region, it provides a model for people everywhere who would like to know more about their own situation but don't know what questions to ask.
  • The Strangest Dream
    The Strangest Dream
    Eric Bednarski 2008 1 h 29 min
    This is the story of Joseph Rotblat, the only nuclear scientist to leave the Manhattan Project, the U.S. government’s secret program to build the first atomic bomb. His was a decision based on moral grounds.

    The film retraces the history of nuclear weapons, from the first test in New Mexico, to Hiroshima, where we see survivors of the first atomic attack. Branded a traitor and spy, Rotblat went from designing atomic bombs to researching the medical uses of radiation. Together with Bertrand Russell he helped create the modern peace movement, and eventually won the Nobel Peace Prize.


    Featuring interviews with contemporaries of Rotblat and passionate public figures including Senator Roméo Dallaire, The Strangest Dream demonstrates the renewed threat of nuclear weapons and encourages hope through the example of morally engaged scientists and citizens.
  • The Un-Canadians
    The Un-Canadians
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    Len Scher 1996 1 h 12 min
    In the late 1940s through to the early '70s, one million Canadians were investigated by their own government, irretrievably altering their lives. The Un-Canadians uncovers some of their stories and documents the workings of a secret government agency, "The Security Panel," an organization that, along with the RCMP security service, shaped and monitored the development of a Canadian blacklist during the Cold War. We also see the influence that the United States, and Senator Joe McCarthy's tactics, had on the Government of Canada. Through in-depth interviews, archival footage and revealing documents, The Un-Canadians tracks down the supposed "subversives" and traces the effect that the blacklist had on their lives. Many had their careers ruined and their family lives destroyed. Director Len Scher knows how it feels to grow up in one of these families. His father was one of those blacklisted. Scher's attempts to learn why resulted in the publication of the book "The Un-Canadians," upon which this film is based.

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