Thursday, July 9, 2020

The Day After (1983)

ABC spent an incredible amount of money making this "better Red than dead" movie, primarily to defeat Reagan in 1984.  The scenario was perfectly fitted to Reagan's (and NATO's) decision to install IRBMs in Western Germany as a deterrent to Warsaw Pact invasion.  Of course, had they successfully defeated Reagan, the Soviet Union would not have fallen (at least, that early) and who knows?  We might still be living under the real possibility of thermonuclear war.  To their credit, they spared no expense to create a powerful and realistic portrayal of this nightmare: set in Kansas, with very middle class white protagonists and victims.  The farmer, who is no survivalist, but takes all the right steps as the war becomes imminent is armed, but still falls to a bullet from a marauder.

To their credit, they acknowledged that surrender has its own serious problems, making the miniseries Amerika in 1987, starring Robert Urich and Kris Kristofferson, which presented a pretty bleak alternative.


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