Timeline of Events & Footages

Here is a comprehensive chronological record of the footages used in the film:

00:01-04:52
Pilot of Enola Gay, Paul Tibbets, recalls how the jet plane dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima

05:00-07:38
President Harry S Truman’s speech
Nagasaki’s bombing and mushroom shroud
Interview with captain of the jet plane about his ‘most outstanding moment’ of the bomb-dropping operation
Americans rejoicing with news of the Japanese surrender

07:38-08:15
Radio programme making fun of the horrific state of Hiroshima after the bomb

08:15-09:00
Paul Tibbets talks about the selection of ‘virgin targets’ in Japan for the sake of ‘bomb blast studies’

09:00-09:39
Bomb victims and their injuries at the Nagasaki Infectious Hospital

09:39-10:20
Paul Tibbets talks about the US’s ‘guilt complex’

10:20-11:18
American citizens on parade
White people having fun on roller coasters in 1946; white people dancing, being in love, getting married

11:10-12:00
Radio broadcast about Bikini Atoll with images of people playing cards, some listening

12:00-12:28
Commander of Bikini Test reassuring the public about what the bomb will NOT do; coining the term ‘Bikini Playboy’

12:28-15:25
American military officer explaining to Bikini Atoll natives about their evacuation and nuclear energy

15:26-16:44
Footage of Operation Bikini Atoll with mushroom shroud, with natives’ version of ‘You Are My Sunshine’ laid over

16:44-20:50
Propaganda video/cartoon entitled ‘1947 – Year of Division’, headlining start of Cold War and highlighting authoritarianism of USSR
Montages emphasize justification of possessing atomic bomb

20:50-21:25
August 1949, montage of news clips; USSR found to possess atomic bomb

21:26-22:45
Montage of safety precautions and measures taken by children in school, civilians and military soldiers

22:45-25:25
Korean war begins
U.S.’s justification to use the bomb to deal with Chinese and Russian communists
TV interview with US congressman from Pennsylvania, “we can destroy… [or] contaminate them”

25:25-25:58
US Air Force film; stating the ‘necessity’ of using the bomb

25:59-27:35
Congress representative’s proposal in urging North Korean troops to either withdraw from the 38th parallel or face annihilation by the bomb

27:35-31:12
US Army Training film, discussion of Communists’ ‘propaganda’
Prosecution of spies in court
Senator Owen Brewster’s speech, suggesting that USSR stole the ideas on atomic bomb construction from them

31:12-35:33
Photographs and footages of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, their alleged espionage case and protests on the streets
Radio broadcast of their execution

35:33-36:52
Debate and interviews of civilians surrounding the question of whether or not hydrogen bombs should be made

36:52-37:56
Animation of an imagined Russian attack

37:56-42:00
Footage of Heisenhower, his campaigns and mass support from the public
Heisenhower’s speech on American’s productiveness and wealth, and about H-bombs being merely a ‘dramatic symbol’

42:00-43:53
Fictional footage of a white American family and Governor Val Peterson discussing ‘World War 3’ on TV
News of Russians having exploded their H-bomb (August 19 1953)
Senator Lyndon B. Johnson’s speech

43:53-47:50
Footage of Castle-Bravo Test on March 1, 1954
Controversy surrounding the mistake in predicting wind directions directly affecting the nuclear fallout (speech by Lewis L. Strauss, Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission)
Images of people with radiation sickness and skin diseases
Case of Lucky Dragon 5
‘Slightly radioactive tea’

47:52-49:17
Start of atomic-naming fad
US Army Information film

49:17-50:06
Gruesome footage of ‘biomedical effect’ as a result of atomic experiments on pigs

50:06-57:35
Soldiers briefed by military officer on the operations involved in an atomic detonation; soldiers reassured on safety

57:35-01:01:25
Radio broadcast warning citizens of St. George town of nuclear fallout headed in their direction
US Army film’s explanation of possible risks and dangers of nuclear fallout

01:01:25-01:05:25
Educating children and public on nuclear weapons and defences to take against fallout
Famous video of ‘Duck & Cover’ featuring Bert our most alert turtle mascot

01:05:25-01:07:51
Discussion of fallout shelters
Interviews with Columbia University professors

01:07:51-01:10:55
Nixon’s meeting with Khruschev talking about arms race, juxtaposed with images of people building shelters

01:10:55-01:12:33
Montage of atomic fad

01:12:33-01:14:04
Nixon rings bell as a gesture to open ‘Mental Health Week’
Montage of people with gas masks and elaborate suits and shelters

01:14:04- the end
Civil defence warning on radio informs Americans that a nuclear attack has taken place
Montage of rockets being launched and everyone running off to hide