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Atomic Bomb

Dark Circle – 40 years later, still matters.

March 30, 2021 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

Does a nearly forty year old documentary still hold relevance? A newly restored HD version of Dark Circle is streaming on various outlets. The film, directed by Christopher Beaver, Judy Irving, and Ruth Landry, was shortlisted for Oscar consideration in 1983 and won an Emmy in 1989, when it finally made it to PBS as part of the POV series.

The film’s focus is plutonium—the byproduct of nuclear power generation and a key component of nuclear weapons. Plutonium is also a very dangerous contaminant. Even minute amounts can cause mutations and cancers that may take years to show up. The film moves between the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant in Colorado and the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant that was being constructed in California. (Since the film was made, the Rocky Flats facility has been closed and is the sight of a massive “superfund” cleanup, and the Diablo Canyon plant is in the process of closing.)

Worker holds highly radioactive plutonium button, the trigger for nuclear
weapons, in glovebox. (stock footage, public domain, still from movie)

The idea in making the film was not to search out experts or politicians, but to turn the camera on some of those most affected. In Colorado we meet a mother who worries about the ground contamination from the nearby Rocky Flats plant. When they bought the house, no one told them about the plant or about the contamination. In California we meet activists who are trying to stop the construction of the plant noting safety considerations.

The film also ventures to Hiroshima and Nagasaki to recall the human toll of the bombings of those cities, and also some of the experiments that the US military conducted with soldiers, many of whom later developed cancers (few of which the government would admit to being responsible for).

In some ways, I see the film as a bit of a time capsule. The world was much different forty years ago. This is in the midst of the Cold War with its theoretical underpinning of mutual assured destruction. We were continuing to build our stockpile of nuclear weapons. The Rocky Flats plant was turning out three new plutonium detonators a day. Nuclear power was not in its infancy, but it was still new enough to raise concerns. (That is not to say it still doesn’t. In fact, we probably have even more concerns now as then.)

Anti-nuclear activists from San Luis Obispo look at Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, under construction in 1980 on an active earthquake fault. © Karen Spangenberg

Yet the film continues to speak, even though the filmmakers may not have been aware at the time of all the issues involved. Although we have reduced our nuclear arsenal, there are now other countries—including North Korea and Iraq—that have developed their own nuclear programs. After Fukushima, the world has a better picture of what kinds of catastrophes nuclear power can bring.

But perhaps the most relevant part of the film is the look at the business behind the nuclear power and defense programs. The film shows how the military-industrial complex worked to override concerns citizens had. The government, supposedly responsible to the people, was unresponsive to those who raised issues about contamination or construction problems. If the film were made today, it might talk of “corporatocracy” and the way corporations wield power over the government. (Note: one of the reasons it took seven years for the film to make it to PBS was that the filmmakers refused to remove a section that named the companies involved.)

It would have been helpful for the filmmakers to make a short update to tack on the end of the film to show the ways things have changed and remained the same. One of the new issues is that as we try to move away from fossil fuels, there is a new push for more nuclear power. It is hard to be completely anti-nuke, but it is also hard to accept it.

Dark Circle begins streaming on Apple TV, iTunes, and Amazon March 30,

Photos courtesy of First Run Features.

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: Atomic Bomb, documentary, environmentalism, nuclear power, PBS

Genius Finale — Bringing Back the Joy

June 21, 2017 by J. Alan Sharrer 3 Comments

(National Geographic/Dusan Martincek)

One January morning in 1998, I walked into a lecture hall at Furman University, not knowing what to expect in the Psychology class I was registered for.  The professor walked in, a rather tall man with bright red hair, and spoke: “Good morning.  My name is Dr. Einstein.”  The class laughed, then he continued: “If you’re wondering, I am actually related to Albert.”  At that point, the class grew silent, then sat back for a fantastic semester of learning with a professor who sincerely loved to teach.  To this day, I still believe Dr. Einstein was the smartest–not to mention most challenging–professor I had.  (If you’re wondering, he’s still teaching at Furman)

In the final two-hour conclusion to National Geographic Channel’s Genius, Albert Einstein (Geoffrey Rush) has moved to the US and is a professor at Princeton University. But the events of the world have seemed to conspire against him. Franz Haber (Richard Topol) dies, as does Mileva, his stepdaughter Ilse, and his current wife, Elsa (Emily Watson). To assuage his feelings, a svelte Russian bombshell named Margarita (Ania Bukstein) enters his life and helps him get through the process of becoming a US citizen.  We soon discover she’s a spy attempting to get access to Einstein’s calculations for an unknown purpose, but she fails in her mission. Later, Albert’s work on general relativity becomes linked to the atomic bomb being worked on by the US and Germany, a thought that makes him sick.  When the bomb is dropped on Japan by the US, Einstein is thrust into the spotlight again—not as a brilliant scientist, but as the harbinger of nuclear death.

(National Geographic/Dusan Martincek)

As a result of this new moniker, Albert begins to push away from his love of science, becoming more active politically.  It creates another big issue in the form of J Edgar Hoover, director of the FBI (TR Knight).  He thinks Albert is a Communist and is willing to go to any length to prove his assertion true.  It makes life difficult as Einstein is concerned with the witch hunt going on for people like the Rosenbergs and is ready to make his feelings known to the world.  But that’s exactly what Hoover wants.  When Albert writes a letter to the judge of the Rosenberg trial, Hoover intercepts it and proceeds to discredit Einstein all over the pages of America’s papers. All Albert has left are a few friends and his assistant Helene (Emily Laing), who he prefers to see and not hear.  His son Hans has come over from Germany, but the rift from the divorce is still fresh.

Sinking into a funk, an unexpected help arrives in the form of Alice Edwards (Dixie Egerickx), a little girl who asks him to help her with her long division homework.  Suddenly, he remembers the joy of teaching and breaks out of his depression.  In the end, he is able to reconcile himself to Hans (even telling him that he would’ve never achieved anything without Mileva) before finally passing away.

Ken Billings directs the final two part-episode and provides a satisfying conclusion to the series.  He’s even able to inject a little emotion into the end sequences as Albert is reconciled to Hans and tells Helene she’s a blessing to him.  It was nice to see a little glimmer of hope as Einstein’s carefully crafted world began to crash down around him. I’m already looking forward to the second season of Genius, which will feature the life of one Pablo Diego Jose Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Maria de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santisima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (yes, that’s the painter’s full name).

One of the neatest things to see in the final episode was how Alice Edwards, with her constant questioning and eager desire to learn, helped bring Albert back to a love of teaching.  When life seems to feel unbearable and the only safe space is under the covers of the bed, there is a way to get back to normal. King David mentioned this in Psalm 51, when it seemed like his sins and mistakes were going to overwhelm him.  He went to God and asked for forgiveness, then prayed, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.  Then I will teach transgressors Your ways” (verses 12-13 NASB).  Sometimes all it takes is asking God for the joy to be restored, and it will arrive in a form that will do the trick. Then we will be able to take on life with a renewed confidence and vigor, making a difference in the lives of others.  And isn’t that what we, in the end, want to happen?

Filed Under: Current Events, Reviews, Television Tagged With: Albert Einstein, Alice Edwards, Ania Bukstein, Atomic Bomb, David, Dixie Egerickx, Elsa Einstein, Emily Laing, Emily Watson, Franz Haber, Genius, Geoffrey Rush, Hans Einstein, J Edgar Hoover, Joy, Ken Billings, Mileva Maric, Pablo Picasso, psalm, Richard Topol, Rosenbergs, Teaching, TR Knight

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