Image Union, episode 0210

Compilation episode of Image Union featuring "Defense for Atomic Attack" by Allen Ross of Chicago Filmmakers, clips from "Media Burn" by Ant Farm, and "The Pope's Visit" by Joseph McGarry.

0:14Copy video clip URL Image Union opening.

0:50Copy video clip URL “Defense For Atomic Attack” submitted by Allen Ross of Chicago Filmmakers. An old industrial film dealing with lines of defense during an atomic attack. The filmmakers lay out what happens during an atomic attack, then describe ways of building a bomb shelter and other ways to protect one’s family if an underground shelter is not available. Despite showing images of atomic bombs leveling cities in the opening segment, useless-seeming measures are recommended, like painting one’s house white to reflect heat and hiding behind desks. This is followed by an enactment of a forseen attack, showing people in homes, offices, and on the street running to shelter. It then gives a terrifying depiction of a surprise attack, during which one has three seconds to decide how to best protect his or her body. The last possibility portrayed is that of a “water burst” – a bomb detonated in a large body of water – which produces a radioactive rain.

16:03Copy video clip URL Clips from “Media Burn” by Ant Farm. Doug Hall, as “artist-president” John F. Kennedy, addresses the nation from Cow Palace in San Francisco on July 4, 1975. “Television, because of its technology and the way it must be used, can only produce autocratic political forms, hierarchies, and hopeless alienation. Mass media monopolies control people by their control of information. In our vast society it is virtually impossible to escape the influence of commercial advertising. And who can deny that we a re a nation addicted to television and the constant flow of media? And not a few of us are frustrated by this addiction. Now I ask you, My fellow Americans, haven’t you ever wanted to put your foot through your television screen?”

20:32Copy video clip URL “The Pope’s Visit,” October 4, 1979, by Joseph McGarry. Joe and Frank McGarry report from Superdawg drive-in hot dog stand on Devon and Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago, waiting for Pope John Paul II’s motorcade. They walk down Milwaukee Ave. talking to spectators who are waving Polish flags and selling memorabilia. They pass by a Liberty Bank sign with a message in Polish, and eat Polish sausages. The parade begins, and in true Chicago fashion, the Irish are well-represented, as are politicians, including long-time Alderman Roman Pucinski. The film closes with a still shot of the Pope passing by.

24:03Copy video clip URL Image Union closing.