During the 1950s and early 1960s, school air-raid drills, bomb shelters, and unnerving civil defense films served as constant reminders of the looming threat of nuclear war. Throughout America, a widespread civil defense effort used town meetings, public school educational programs, and the mass media—television, radio, and especially, motion pictures—to mobilize every citizen for a protracted Cold War. This volume explores how American popular culture has portrayed civil defense from mid-twentieth century to the immediate post-September 11 era. With analysis of everything from early government propaganda films and 1950s science fiction films to
Happy Days
, the Reagan-era TV movie
The Day After
, and the small-screen nostalgia trend after 9/11, it shows how popular culture reflects American fears and the hope of preparedness.