The horror of a nuclear attack in a description of those who actually lived through it – “You have 38 minutes to hide”

For much of the world, the growing fears of one nuclear attack is something new, or, in some cases, something they have not felt for a long time. For its inhabitants Hawaii, is very recent. On January 13, 2018, 1.4 million residents across the state received an alarm on their phones that turned a drowsy Saturday morning into a morning of utter panic:

“Ballistic missile threatens Hawaii. Seek refuge immediately. This is not an exercise».

Reading about a sudden, unexpected nuclear threat is one thing, but now a team of filmmakers has created On The Morning You Wake (to the End of the World), a virtual reality movie about Oculus Quest 2 that does a remarkable job of rebroadcasting tension and chaos of these 38 minutes, while supporting changes in nuclear policy.

And all this at a time when the debate over if and when a nuclear holocaust is now in the realm of the “unthinkable”is quite intense.

Chapter 1: Find shelter

“The morning you wake up” is not what you expect. This is a film based mainly on oral speech, which is enhanced by visual material. It is a choreographed mix of moving particles and images of real people that look like life-size holograms. It is a narrative and an activism tool. And it is a project that puts you at the center of a crisis, deftly turning you to the heart of a possible solution.

“The reality of nuclear war can seem incredibly abstract, which most people have a hard time imagining,” said producer Mike Brett, a documentary crew member and co-founder of Archer’s Mark, the video production service that worked for film. “And it is definitely something that they have a hard time imagining will happen to them. They often see it as a problem in another part of the world or in another community. So, as creators, we hoped that by putting users at the center of this experience and allowing them to feel this reality, we could help them understand the magnitude and urgency of the situation. As our co-author Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio has said many times recently, “This experience is meant to make you feel uncomfortable.”

Chapter 2: Destruction Machine

He succeeds. Either you watch from below as parents send their children to the sewers in the hope of protecting them – or you hear a Hiroshima survivor talk about what it was like to live on August 6, 1945, just to face the possibility of doing so. relive, 73 years later – it’s hard not to be affected. And while it’s largely a passive (albeit 360-degree) experience, the brief, unexpected moments of interactivity make it even more exciting – a testament to average VR.

Chapter 3: Liability

The last third of the film, which focuses more on activism, is not without its horrors – especially when the sender who sent the false rocket alarm to the island refers to the incident and his feelings about the panic that caused that day.

“A lot of people fail to deal with the nuclear issue because they feel overwhelmed by the scale of the project or powerless as individuals to influence big decisions,” says Brett. “And so, as much as we hoped to shake up users by making them feel a little uncomfortable, we also thought it was vital to go through the last act emphasizing the message that we actually have the tools to remove the nuclear shadow, empowering them to take action and we hope to create a sense of community “.

Groups such as the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) are leading the effort to change the way nuclear forces think. And the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which became international law in January 2021, prohibits the use, threat of use and development / possession of nuclear weapons (although Russia, the United States and other nuclear powers have not yet acceded). in the treaty).

“Change comes from ordinary people demanding better from our governments and from each other,” says Acheson. “Even if it seems impossible, then it is more important to push. “Otherwise, we remain silent in the face of our possible disappearance from the hands of some so-called leaders.”