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If You Love This Planet
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Wikipedia article
'If You Love This Planet' is a 1982 short documentary film recording a lecture given to SUNY Plattsburgh students by physician and anti-nuclear activist Dr. Helen Caldicott about the dangers posed by nuclear weapons. The movie was directed by Terre Nash and produced by Edward Le Lorrain for Studio D, the women's studio of the National Film Board of Canada. Studio D head Kathleen Shannon was executive producer.
Released during the term of the Reagan administration and at the height of Cold War nuclear tensions between the United States and Soviet Union, 'If You Love This Planet' was officially designated as "foreign political propaganda" by the United States Department of Justice and temporarily banned. The subsequent uproar over that action gave the film a publicity boost, and it later won the 1982 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). CBC Television initially refused to air the film, claiming it was biased. It debuted in the United Kingdom when it was screened by the London Socialist Film Co-op.Matthew Hays, [http://www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVES/1997/032097/film1.html "Montreal Oscar Stories: Two of the city's award-winners reminisce"] 'Montreal Mirror', March 21, 1997. Accessed 2008.12.18.
Significance
The film goes into depth describing in easy-to-understand language the scientific and medical consequences of nuclear warfare.
The film alternate Caldicott's lecture and takes of the concerned audience with archival footage of the effects of the atomic bombs and scenes from 'Jap Zero', a military educational film from 1943 featuring Ronald Reagan.
A physician by training, Caldicott prescribes a cure and cause for hope. She suggests that individuals organize politically, learn energy efficiency, and hold corporations and governments accountable.
The film inspired Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeaus World Peace Tour to reduce nuclear arms. The film was loved and reviewed by newspapers such as the 'Los Angeles Times', 'East Bay Express', and 'The Seattle Times'. The film also received praise from activist and filmmaker Naomi Klein.
Book
Caldicott later wrote a book of the same name, 'If You Love This Planet: A Plan to Heal the Earth' (1992). A new edition of this book was published by W. W. Norton & Company in September 2009.
Radio Program
Caldicott hosted a weekly radio program called 'If You Love This Planet' from July 2008 to November 2012. The program was first aired by Pacifica Foundation station KPFT in Houston, and played weekly on dozens of American., Canadian, and Australian radio stations. The series focused on the threats to human survival posed by nuclear weapons, nuclear power, global warming, pollution, deforestation, and other public health issues.
See also
*'Eight Minutes to Midnight: A Portrait of Dr. Helen Caldicott', a 1981 feature-length documentary film
References
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