Duck and Cover
The American Experience Since 1945
HIS/145
Duck and cover vs. threat of terrorism
Motion picture, Duck and Cover produced by Archer Productions, Inc. is a 1951 short
film that taught children what to do in case of an atomic bomb occurred. It gave the audience
numerous scenarios from children to adults how to protect themselves from a nuclear attack.
Getting low to the ground in a fetal position, covering the back of his or her neck with there
hands were the “best” way of protection then.
From nuclear attacks to terrorist attack, Duck and Cover is not an appropriate way of
protection. In the past 14 years, terrorist attacks can be a bomb in a building or in airplanes.
When I was in the military, if terrorist bomb occurred or detected, we were trained to grab our
gas mask gear and go under a bunker. A bunker is a shelter that protects soldiers from debris and
rays, and our gas mask gear protected us from any chemical exposed in the air. Outside the
military, if an attack is about it happen or already has; the appropriate response is to seek shelter,
which provides safety from debris and ray.
The difference from 1951 to the present is we know shelter will give people a better
chance of survival in case of a terrorist attack. Since the making of the “Duck and Cover” film,
the United States are still experiencing issues from foreign countries of similar issues. From the
film to the present, no one really knows when an attack will occur, weather it is nuclear or
terrorist. Given the knowledge of what we can do for survival is the same.
References
The Library of Congress. (1951). Duck and Cover. Archer Films. Retrieved from http://archive.org/details/DuckandC1951