Threads
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- This article is about a television programme. For uses of this word in the singular, see Thread.
Image:Threadsmoviecover.jpg Threads was a 1984 BBC television docu-drama film depicting a nuclear attack on the United Kingdom and its aftermath. The story focuses on Sheffield, England, starting shortly before the attack and continuing to 13 years after, as the threads that hold civilisation together slowly unravel. The plot and atmosphere of the film are extremely bleak, but do feature a few lighter moments. Like The War Game, which dealt with similar subject matter, the film mixes conventional narrative with text screens and narration. For added realism in its depiction of the nuclear attack and consequences, findings from the 1980 British Government exercise "Square Leg" were used. One of the key elements of the film is that much of the reportage of world events is in the background, with few people paying attention to the events unfolding around them until it becomes clear that war is imminent.
During filming, the BBC reportedly got into trouble with the local police after detonating a large smoke bomb to simulate a mushroom cloud. Many residents believed there had been a real explosion.
Written by Barry Hines and directed by Mick Jackson, Threads was filmed in late 1983. According to the credits, Carl Sagan among others was a consultant for the production. It was first broadcast on BBC television in 1984 and then again in 1985 as part of a week of programmes marking the fortieth anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Threads was not shown again on British screens until digital channel BBC Four broadcast it in November 2003. It has also been broadcast in the USA.
The film was originally released on VHS and DVD in the UK in 2000 but soon went out-of-production. It quickly became a collector's item for a short time, regularly appearing on eBay and Amazon.co.uk Marketplace for very high prices. Since then, a re-release was issued on September 5th 2005 and the film is now available in both media.
Contents |
Plot
The Buildup
"In an urban society everything connects, each person's needs are feed by the skills for many others. our lives are woven together in a fabric, but the connections that make society strong also make it vulnerable"
Introduced by the preceding words, Threads is set in Sheffield, England. The political background is a revolution in Iran, the subsequent invasion of northern Iran by the USSR, and tactical moves by both the East and West in Germany.
The film centers on two families, the Kemps and the Becketts. Ruth Beckett and Jimmy Kemp are courting, and in the first scene of the film, their parked car is on a hill looking down on Sheffield. The city is 17 miles away from RAF Finningley, a base for both USAF F-4 Phantoms and an RAF communication center, thus making it high priority military target. It is Saturday, March 5.
The film then jumps ahead to May 11, and the Becketts are awaiting a visit from the Kemps. The BBC reports in a special report that an American submarine has been attacked and destroyed in the Persian Gulf. Ruth is pregnant with Jimmy's child, and they are planning to get married. Meanwhile, the United States has announced that it plans to deploy a rapid deployment force into western Iran in order to block any possible Soviet move towards the oil fields.
Image:Pubjimmybob.jpg The Kemps are discussing Jimmy's forthcoming marriage, and his father notes that it's not a good idea to get married in the middle of a recession.
In a pub, Jimmy and his friend Bob are discussing the international situation over a pint, when it is announced on the TV that the United States has accused the Soviets of moving nuclear warheads into their new base in Iran. Bob's concluding comment is "... I'll tell you one thing; if the bomb does drop I will be pissed out of my mind and straight underneath it when it happens..."
It is then noted that Britain has emergency plans for war, and should the central government fail, power can be transferred to a network of local officials. In an urban area like Sheffield, there is already a designated wartime controller -- the city's peacetime chief executive. If and when this transfer happens depends on the crisis itself.
Escalation
On Saturday May 21, the MoD begins to move troops to Europe. British Airways and some cross channel shipping are commandeered for this purpose. Peace rallies are held throughout the country. The United States demands that there be a joint withdrawal from Iran by noon on Sunday May 22. The Soviets refuse.
Overnight reports indicate build-ups of Soviet forces along the Iranian border and East Germany. At 1PM on Sunday, American B52s strike at a Soviet base in Iran with conventional weapons. The Soviets defend the base with single nuclear air defense missile, and many B52s are lost. At 2PM, the United States retaliates with a tactical nuclear weapon. The base is destroyed and the exchange stops.
In Britain, there are outbreaks of rioting and lawlessness. By May 24th reports of the outbreak of fighting between the United States and Soviets have reached the West and Parliament passes an Emergency Powers Act. Many begin to attempt to leave large population centers for the relative safety of the countryside. This movement is against government advice. Official Essential Service routes are set up to enable vital movements to continue. Known and potential subversives are arrested. Image:Protectandsurvivecover.jpg
The American carrier Kitty Hawk is sunk in the Persian Gulf. America responds with an air and naval blockade of Cuba. Many people follow government advice to build improvised fall-out shelters. Protect and Survive booklets are distributed, which include advice that a fall-out room should be set up with provisions for the family for 14 days stored within it. A 'lean-to' should be built out of boards, doors, etc., and rested against an inner wall. The Kemps build such a structure, the Becketts decide to use the cellar.
A radio news broadcast notes "There has been a run on tinned food sugar and other storable items that is causing shortages in some areas. A spokesman for the main supermarket chains says that fuel shortages are hindering re-supply and urged the public to calm down"
On May 25, Sheffield officials enter a bunker (more accurately, the basement/cellar used to store documents) under the Town hall. Many officers have had no training; some discovered their emergency role only in the last few days, and almost all are unsure of their exact duties. Ruth has decided not to go into work and when her mother tries to call Ruth's work, she discovers that the telephone has been disconnected as all non-essential lines have been cut. The telephone preference system has been activated, allowing all but ten percent to be cut off at will, in order to allow hospitals, utilities, military bases and the like to still have a phone line. It also prevents spies listening in.
The UK Warning and Monitoring Organization is responsible for issuing the "four-minute warning". The warning originates at RAF High Wycombe near London, and is relayed to over 250 control points in major police stations. The police activate the 7,000 automated warning sirens in the UK.
These are backed up by 11,000 other warning points in rural areas, located in coastguard stations, hospitals, village shops and even pubs, these warning points sound the alarm by hand-siren. Small three man bunkers scattered all over the UK are manned to sound the alarm and monitor blast and fall-out levels.
War
It is now 8:00 AM May 26. In the bunker under Sheffield town hall, a WB1400 warning receiver is making a 'ticking' sound, a nuclear 'all clear'. The Kemps are removing inside doors to use for their shelter, while the radio plays an information broadcast. By this time, Public information films are being broadcast almost constantly on TV and radio.
At 8:30 AM, (3:30am in Washington), it is noted that over the last few days neither the President nor his staff will have had more than a few hours rest, this is when they may be asleep, and thus this is when Western response will be slowest. At 8:30 AM, the warning sounds, at 8:35 single warhead is detonated high over the North Sea, the EMP knocks out power and communication systems. At 8:37 AM, the first salvos hit NATO military targets, including RAF Finningley. This first salvo totals 80 megatons.
The nuclear exchange continues, with more strategic weapons being used. One of these large bombs is detonated over Sheffield, possibly a one-megaton warhead. Buildings explode and milk bottles melt in the heat. The Kemp's young son Michael is consumed by flames, and Mrs. Kemp is blinded and maimed when she tries to save him.
Initial casualties are between 2.5 and 9 million. An hour and 25 minutes after the attack the first fall-out dust settles on Sheffield. Fire fighting on any large scale is unlikely. Food distribution also unlikely for at least 3-4 weeks. About two thirds of the houses in the UK are in fire zones. Almost all windows are broken and most roofs are open to the skies. In total 210 megatons fall on the UK, that is the equivalent of 3.5 tonnes of high explosive for every person in the country.
Aftermath (Short-term)
The first duty of the Sheffield officials is maintaining communication with other control centres and assessing the damage. A large map on the wall is marked with concentric circles around the detonations. These release bands determine the length of time people will have to stay in their shelters.
The Kemps emerge from their shelter to a scene of total devastation. Their survival chances are minimal as the damage to their house has exposed them to fall-out. They find Michael's body under rubble in the garden. The Becketts, living in a cellar outside the fire zone, still suffer radiation sickness but survive the initial effects of the attack. Ruth's grandmother dies in her sleep. While her parents are removing the body, Ruth decides to leave the basement. Shortly afterwards the house is raided by looters who kill her parents.
A group of survivors (Jimmy's father amongst them) tries to break into a food storage depot; soldiers defend the depot with tear gas. Detention camps are set up to cope with the growing numbers of looters.
Finding medical help is difficult, even if you can find a medical professional, without power, water or drug supplies there is almost no way a doctor can exercise his skill. Even had the whole UK health service been intact could not cope with the effects of the one bomb that has hit Sheffield.
The officials in the basement are as shocked by the events as anyone else, with one noting of the looters, "Look shoot the buggers I don't care!". The Chief Executive and the Medical officer are looking at the map on the wall ".Everybody here will be dead already...Around here 50% will still be alive, but they are as good as dead already, they have probably received a lethal dose"
The town hall bunker has a generator and food supplies for 2 weeks, but the blast brought down all four floors of the building, sealing the officials in. Getting lifting equipment to them is difficult, and they all die of suffocation.
In the atmosphere, huge clouds of dust block out the sun, and over large parts of the northern hemisphere it starts to get dark and cold. In the centre of large land masses like America or Russia the temperature drop may be as much as 25 degrees Celsius. Even in Britain, the temps could fall to freezing or below for long periods.
Aftermath (Long-term)
One week after the attack, Ruth walks devastated streets passing charred bodies and a woman holding a dead baby. At Jimmy's house, she finds Mrs Kemp dead, and takes one of Jimmy's books as a keepsake. The killers of Ruth's parents are arrested and executed. Ruth returns home to find that her parents are no longer there. A public information broadcast states that "... All able-bodied citizens, men, women and children should report for reconstruction duties commencing 08:00 tomorrow morning..."
By 4 to 6 weeks after the attack, deaths from fallout are reaching their peak, disposal of bodies is difficult, digging pits by hand is not practical, and fuel is too valuable to be used for cremations. There are now between 10 and 15 million unburied bodies in Britain, which in turn give rise to epidemics.
By now most, who can have left cities and towns in search of food. In the grim economics of the aftermath is a harsh reality: a survivor who can work gets more food than one who can't, and the more who die, the more food left for the rest. Along with many others, Ruth is relocated to Buxton, which suffered fewer effects of the attack. Ruth, along with three others, is allocated temporary accommodation in a private home, over the objections of the homeowner, they are kicked out of this accommodation very soon afterwards.
Food is distributed after 4 weeks. The delay is partly organizational and partly deliberate, as there is a desire not to waste food on people who are going to die anyway. Even with supplies rationed to 1,000 calories per day, stocks do not last long and it is up to the remaining population to harvest what little crops have survived.
Ruth and Jimmy's friend Bob find a dead sheep. After some deliberation, they choose to eat it then use its coat to keep warm. Four months after the attack, Ruth gives birth to a surprisingly healthy child. In a slightly uncomfortable scene we see them sitting around a fire with other survivors on December 25.
The sky is clearing and sun light (heavy with ultraviolet radiation) is returning. However, with fuel stocks running low, this could be the last harvest done with tractors and combine harvesters. Lack of fertilizers and the like make the growing of crops very hard.
The first few winters are so harsh that most of the young and old die as their protective layers of flesh are thinner. The pace of the film quickens and we see Ruth and her daughter working in the fields.
The population may fall to about 5 million within 8 to 10 years of the attack. The country is returning to population levels and standards of living similar to those of medieval times. A breakdown of language is evident among those born after the attack, making learning difficult.
It is now 10 years after the attack, Ruth is in the final stages of cancer and looks far older than her years, she dies peacefully. By this time, basic electricity is in use again and we see mining and the use of steam engines. Ruth's daughter is learning how to repair clothes.
Ruth's daughter becomes pregnant due to being raped by an unintelligable looter. As her contractions begin, she stumbles through the devastated landscape until she finds a hostel with electricity. Her baby is stillborn and hideously mutated.
And on that note, the movie ends.
See also
- The Day After, an American made-for-television film. The film critic Steve Rose has said that "Threads was to The Day After what Coronation Street was to Dynasty".
- The War Game, another nuclear war film the BBC made in 1965, banned from television until the 1980s.
- Protect and Survive, the 1970s British government information films on nuclear war.
- Final War, a Japanese film from 1960, in which nuclear war occurs after the U.S. accidentally bombs South Korea.
- Nuclear weapons in popular culture