As Doomsday Clock ticks closer to midnight, don’t miss this riveting documentary about the nuke-themed TV movie that changed the world

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Next week, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists will announce the annual resetting of their famed Doomsday Clock, a symbol designed “to warn the public about how close we are to destroying our world with dangerous technologies of our own making,” including nuclear weapons.¹

Last year, citing mounting fears over Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board, a group of internationally recognized experts on nuclear risk and other threats, moved the hands of the clock forward to 90 seconds to midnight – the closest it’s been to full-scale global catastrophe since the Doomsday Clock was launched in 1947.

This year, as Russia’s war on Ukraine continues to grind on, combined with escalating tensions between the U.S. and China and mounting fears that Israel’s U.S.-backed war on Gaza could expand throughout the greater Middle East, it’s a good bet the hands of the clock will move even closer to midnight.

It’s no wonder recent polls² have shown Americans’ fears of nuclear war surging to their highest level since the height of the Cold War in the 1980s, when an unrestrained nuclear arms race gave rise to a grassroots anti-nuclear movement that eventually forced the U.S. and the Soviet Union to the negotiating table.

For a look back at that period, and the unlikely 1983 TV movie that did more than any other single media broadcast to scare the American public and U.S. leaders straight about the specter of nuclear war, be sure to check out award-winning filmmaker Jeff Daniels’ acclaimed documentary Television Event. The film provides a riveting behind-the-scenes look at the making of the blockbuster TV movie “The Day After,” a graphic and terrifying fictional account of a nuclear strike on Middle America that was watched by a record 100 million Americans.

On the 40th anniversary of this momentous broadcast, we’re thrilled to let you know we’ve acquired the exclusive educational rights to distribute Television Event, and that it’s now available as a digital site license and for pre-order in all other formats.

At once darkly funny and deadly serious, Television Event is an invaluable resource for opening up discussions about the continuing, and growing, threat of nuclear war today – ideal for courses ranging from American history, political science, and international relations to communication, media studies, and media production.

1. “Bill Nye joins the 2024 Doomsday Clock announcement,” by Sarah Starkey, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists website, Jan. 8, 2024.
2. “Poll shows ‘surging fear of Nuclear War’. Protests in 40+ US cities demand de-escalation,” Modern Diplomacy, Nov. 11, 2022.

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PRAISE FOR TELEVISION EVENT 

 

“A blast. Witty, moving, and engaging.”
—The Hollywood Reporter

“Absolutely riveting, highly entertaining … oddly funny … a wild ride.”
—Deadline Hollywood

“Entertaining … [Full of] vivid inside storytellers”
—Variety

“As entertaining as it is profound … a gem of an historical document.”
—Hammer to Nail

“Smartly structured … a celebration of art.”
—The Moveable Fest

“Suburb … highly comedic … its impact truly hits home.”
—Pop Matters

“Engrossing and profound … Takeaway – the power of art is real.”
—Screen Radar

“9/10. Focused and honest. A riveting study of a landmark film.”
—Blu-ray.com

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