To examine the rhetorical vision of nuclear war presented in the television show "The Day After," it is necessary to consider (1) the motives of those involved in producing the film, (2) the debate over the film that preceded its presentation, (3) the effect of the film's message, and (4) how the film's rhetorical structure contributed…

Examines the ironic "problems" of the 1989 Hollywood film "Fat Man and Little Boy" (portraying the construction of the atomic bomb at the Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II) to demonstrate the ideological operations of nuclear texts, and the role of the nuclear weapons organization as a symbolic form in cultural…

Presents a fantasy theme analysis of the nuclear war issue derived from a comparison of personal statements and the film "The Day After" and its resulting complex rhetorical vision. Notes the vision's irony and discusses its implications for the nuclear war issue. (JD)

Examines "nukespeak," the use of metaphor, euphemism, technical jargon, and acronyms to portray nuclear concepts in a neutral or positive way. Identifies two nukespeak strategies: domestication and bureaucratization. Uses two cases of nukespeak strategy by Ronald Reagan to illustrate the implications of nukespeak for the audience. (MM)

Reexamines the American National Conference of Catholic Bishops' 1983 Pastoral Letter on War and Peace. Finds that the pastoral letter functioned rhetorically not to foster but to manage dissent, diffusing a radical Catholic challenge to American defense policy and reclaiming the bishops' authority to define Church teachings on war and peace. (SR)

Noting that the television movie "The Day After" (aired November 20, 1983) is probably the most important of the films generating discussion about the issue of nuclear war, this paper describes a study that examined the rhetorical vision of nuclear war depicted in the film and the ways in which that vision corresponds to the images held…

The symbolic presence of Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) has been and continues to be the pivot point in all summitry rhetoric between the American President and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. To examine some of the rhetorical choices made by Gorbachev to dramatize his vision of why Ronald Reagan refuses to…