I watched Threads on YouTube this weekend. Threads was a 1984 British TV drama about the build-up and aftermath of an all out nuclear war.
When I first watched it I was in grade 7 or 8 and I found it particularly disturbing – almost life changingly so. When I watched it this weekend I found it less disturbing and it brought back a lot of memories from the early to mid 80’s when there seemed to be a feeling that a nuclear war was eminent; I recall talking to some class mates about the possibility of a nuclear war and we all basically felt that it was just a matter of time. Fortunately it hasn’t happened yet and as the world progresses the prospects of an all out war have faded almost completely; I think someone letting off an nuclear weapon will happen, it will just be a regional thing vs. the total destruction of the planet.
Looking back I don’t recall the moment it stopped being something that I thought would happen and just stopped being something that I thought about, which is kind of odd given that it had been on our collective minds for years. I do wonder what long term impact the ongoing fear had on my view of the world?