A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood?
Part of Heroes and Hiccups: True Stories about Nuclear Weapon Risks
Fred Rogers
In 1983, at the height of the Cold War, beloved children’s entertainer Mister Rogers aired a weeklong series called “Conflict”—essentially a child-friend allegory of the nuclear arms race. In the series, “the Neighborhood of Make Believe” began manufacturing bombs out of fear that other neighborhoods were doing the same—before realizing that their rivals were only building bridges. Mister Rogers helped children process a fear of nuclear war that permeated society and taught them that peace was possible through cooperation and dialogue.
More Resources
Lost Episodes of Mister Rogers about the Cold War have Emerged on YouTube | Quartz
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Nukes on Screen: The Entertainment Industry’s Go-To Resource on Nuclear Weapons
NTI's Critical Mass Project supports the creative community to tell stories about nuclear risks in film and television.
When Yeltsin Reached for the Nuclear Briefcase
