Countdown to Zero is a harrowing documentary that mirrors today’s concern over hawkish Republican candidates for president who are sounding the Klaxon on attacking Iran; while experts warn of the threat of atomic Armageddon.
“Former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania suggested supporting an Israeli military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities,” reported the New York Times last month after Santorum and other Republican candidates for president “joined in a united attack against President Obama as commander in chief” during a recent debate when each of the GOP front-runners sounded the Klaxon on how to stop Iran’s nuclear ambitions. In turn, the Oscar nominated 2010 documentary “Countdown to Zero” has now been released on DVD in time for what one film critic noted as “the end of the world due to atomic Armageddon in 2012.” Countdown to Zero has been described as a “harrowing documentary about the very immediate dangers of nuclear armament and the threat of atomic Armageddon that didn’t end with the Cold War.”
Art leads the way in explaining nuclear war fear
There’s been a recent flood of Hollywood fiction films and news documentaries that point to the likelihood of the use of nuclear weapons since the end of the Cold War due to terrorism, nuclear proliferation and the theft of nuclear materials and weapons. While GOP politicians can beat the war drum freely – since they’re not the president yet – artists, such as film makers, say they have the freedom to explore such subjects as “atomic Armageddon” because “it’s on everyone’s mind.”
For instance, film makers in Switzerland are presenting regular mini-documentaries on a new law that relaxes the Swiss civil protection laws. Reuters reported last week that large buildings in Switzerland “will have to provide nuclear shelters, now more than 20 years after the end of the Cold War.
“At the height of the Cold War in the 1960s, Switzerland began requiring space in a nuclear fallout shelter for each resident,” Reuters reported, while also noting “with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the threat of a nuclear war having subsided, many bunkers -- often in cellars of houses and apartment blocks -- are used to store wine, sports equipment and unwanted household junk. Under new rules that come into force in January 2012, only buildings that have 38 rooms or more will have to build a shelter. Previously the law required a shelter for all buildings with eight plus rooms.”
“Russia certainly seems to be in a hurry to prepare for something” reported beforeitsnews.com recently; while pointing to “5,000 new nuclear bomb shelters will be constructed in the city of Moscow by the end of 2012. Russian authorities believe that these new shelters are urgently needed because the current nuclear bomb shelters will only hold approximately half the population and are quite outdated. In addition, there are apparently very few nuclear bomb shelters for those living outside the city center at this point. Officials want virtually the entire population of Moscow to be able to reach a bomb shelter within a matter of minutes.”
In turn, rich Republicans here in the U.S. are also investing in a new boom in nuclear shelter construction projects throughout the country; while some shelters are priced in the hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars.
In George Orwell’s “1984” citizens of the totalitarian state of Oceania were required to accomplish the impossible task of holding two contradictory ideas in their minds and accepting both of them: “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”
Orwell called this “Doublethink,” but now it seems Republicans are calling military action against Iran “practical” as they bang the war drum to “engage Iran.”
While this may sound like a bad movie, it’s real say Oscar winning film makers who are using art to spread the word that “Doublethink” is dangerous in 2011 when nuclear weapons threats are tossed about by those Republican politicians who fear Iran.
Republicans pushing Iran, while such action could prompt World War III
When it came to perhaps the most urgent emerging threat, Iran’s nuclear program — and a new United Nations report that said Tehran was making progress toward building a weapon — The New York Times reported how the three candidates now leading in polls suggested military action to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear device.
“While Mr. (Mitt) Romney agreed to economic sanctions and aid to Iranian opponents of the government in Tehran, he also said that if nothing else worked, he would use the military,” reported The New York Times last month in a front page story.
“If all else fails, if after all the work we’ve done there’s nothing else we can do besides take military action, then of course you take military action,” Romney said in a recent debate, while the New York times noted how “that appears to be the toughest language he has used the campaign about Iran’s nuclear program.”
Newt Gingrich seemed to agree. If “the dictatorship persists,” Mr. Gingrich said, “you have to take whatever steps are necessary to break its capacity to have a nuclear weapon.”
On the other hand, the New York Times reported that “Ron Paul was sharply critical of the idea. He said that he was concerned that such action would repeat the use of exaggerated and false threats that led to the Iraq war.
“I’m afraid what’s going on right now is similar to the war propaganda that went on against Iraq,” Paul said.
But Romney kept the onus on President Obama.
“Look, one thing you can know,” Romney said. “And that is if we re-elect Barack Obama, Iran will have a nuclear weapon.”
Countdown to Zero warns GOP to not push for war with Iran
The documentary film “Countdown to Zero” argues against the current view by GOP candidates for president who are pushing for military action against Iran.
The film states that the likelihood of the use of nuclear weapons has increased since the end of the Cold War due to terrorism, nuclear proliferation and the theft of nuclear materials and weapons.
The film features interviews with leading statesmen and experts, including Tony Blair, Jimmy Carter, Mikhail Gorbachev, Robert McNamara, Pervez Musharraf, and Valerie Plame Wilson. The film prologue was narrated by Gary Oldman. The musical score was composed by Peter Golub, and the rock band Pearl Jam contributed the song "The Fixer."
According to the film’s marketing pitch: “It was developed, financed and executive produced by Participant Media together with World Security Institute. The idea for the film first occurred to the producers when the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Al Gore after the success of his documentary about global warming, An Inconvenient Truth. Diane Weyermann of Participant Media asked Walker if she was interested in directing a film about nuclear weapons, and Walker said yes. More than 84 people were interviewed for the film. Global Zero, an international organization promoting the elimination of nuclear weapons, provided production assistance for the film."
The film's closing credits contain a phone number to which a text message may be sent to protest the maintenance of high levels of nuclear arsenals and lax security regarding nuclear weapons and materials.
Countdown to Zero debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2010, where it screened out of competition. At that time, Magnolia Pictures secured the North American theatrical distribution rights. The film was screened privately for Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and a portion of the film shown for the press at the National Press Club. The film is now being shown at colleges and universities around the country.
Image source of the film poster for the documentary “Countdown to Zero,” that features former world leaders arguing for a stop to the nuclear arms race before it’s too late. Photo courtesy Wikipedia
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