After the Bomb: Context Research

[bsdfjnlkasn]

Hey everyone,

I've just decided to start a new post for anyone who has recommendations for texts that give a greater understanding of the ATB module. From my understanding, it's really important to immerse yourself in the time so you allow yourself the opportunity to explore new ideas/texts where you can eventually come up with your own. Whether it be one link to a research paper or an extensive list of novels from/about that time I think it would be super great for everyone to just collaborate and share what we found useful to give us a well-rounded perspective of a time where everything was changing.

Thank you and hoping to get reading soon 

[Camus]

I'm quite keen on this idea as well. While I don't have too much on context itself, I have already collated quite a reasonable amount of resources for the texts I'm studying (I do Godot, Artist of the Floating World, GNGL; in particular, I have quite a lot on Godot, and a decent amount on Artist). What texts are you doing?

Anyway, I'd be happy to contribute if I find anything I think is interesting.

[bsdfjnlkasn]

I'm quite keen on this idea as well. While I don't have too much on context itself, I have already collated quite a reasonable amount of resources for the texts I'm studying (I do Godot, Artist of the Floating World, GNGL; in particular, I have quite a lot on Godot, and a decent amount on Artist). What texts are you doing?

Anyway, I'd be happy to contribute if I find anything I think is interesting.

Hey thanks for supporting the idea!

I'm doing the same prescribed texts as you a part from GNGL where i'm studying Sylvia Plath's poetry instead. Since you've already got resources relevant to your texts (which is super), would you consider starting a new thread on which everyone can share their own links/resources? Just a thought as I know i'm still a bit lost for both context and text (as you can probably tell ) and reading your reply has me thinking that two threads which address these issues will probably help a whole lot of other ext students out.

Anyway, let me know what you think and in the meantime i'll keep looking for more context info

Thank you!!

[elysepopplewell]

Hey, super great idea!!!

Here are some of the things that I think are really easy places to start when looking into the ATB period. They are definitely Western focused as my related texts and prescribed texts were exactly that.

You've got to watch Bert the Turtle in Duck and Cover which was produced in 1951 as a sort of Cold War safety campaign in America. An easy watch and great place to start. You could use this as a related text!

Here's an anti-Communist propaganda film that was created by a College, I believe. It talks about what America is to different people.

Here's the Kitchen Debate, now. I used this as a related text in the HSC exams. It is admittedly quite hard to find in its full debate, but there's a lot of great discussion surrounding it as well. Was the debate rigged? Was it fair that it was televised at different times in different countries? Basically, Nixon was invited to display a Kitchen exhibit, the height of capitalism, in Russia. Khruschev and Nixon debate the merits of capitalism through the Kitchen exhibit. Here is a little snippet on youtube. Here's the transcript as recorded by the CIA and here is what the New York Times wrote about it.

If you're doing some Plath texts, I think that reading, or at least skimming for some good ideas, Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique is a great start. Friedan was a pioneer of second wave feminism in many ways... I really enjoyed reading Plath's novel The Bell Jar as well, and some class mates of mine read Mad Girl's Love Song, which is the biography of Plath.

You could research everyday of the HSC year until the exams and still not know everything about ATB...but that's what is so exciting. There's so much to unpack, so many avenues to take! I love After the Bomb, and I'm keen to know what you think about it

[r4id3r]

A great idea! Should be a useful resource for many Extension English HSC-goers for the 2017 season