Pop Culture Artifacts Analysis

The way Pop culture artifacts speak about risks in society is detrimental to how society views these risks. Without proper information or misinformation on a risk, society remains unknowledgeable, unaware, and at serious risk of falling victim to these things. All of the artifacts for this assignment dealt with nuclear energy and how it effects the people around us. Whereas the New Vegas Debut Trailer, and Edwards “Fallout,” take a darker approach to assessing the risks of nuclear testing, the Simpson’s episode attempts to mock the politics behind nuclear waste and show the risks of the environment. The evolution of the radioactive spider bite and the Bruce Banner video on nuclear radiation takes a twisted approach in assessing the risk by showing that nuclear things can provide super powers.  Although the New Vegas Debut Trailer was short it had a detailed message. It provided viewers with a look as to how a few miles from Las Vegas there is no possible way for human life to survive, as seen with the robot trying to pick up the waste. The ominous person at the end of the video leaves an impression on viewers that he or she is going to move closer and closer with the testing range. In Edward’s “Fallout,” the personal story of how “Miss Atomic Bomb” was advertised as something beautiful and something wonderful had an impact on people who lost family to the testing. In the piece Edward states that it was “rejoicing the black plague.” When it was found out that the grandmother had passed away from being a “downwinder” the story became very more personal and it made readers feel a sense of “this could have happened to me,” causing them to think about how they would have felt about “Miss Atomic Bomb.” In the Simpson’s episode, Blinky, the three eyed fish had been used to show the effects of nuclear testing in a more sarcastic way. The episode aimed to denounce politicians for running for office just so they could keep their facilities up and running to make money. In the radioactive videos of Peter Parker and Bruce Banner, there seems to be a lack of information provided to viewers. Being exposed to radiation won’t provide powers, yet, in the case of the two super heroes that come out of this exposure, radioactive exposure proves to be safe. By promoting this ideal, especially in an artifact that millions are familiar with, misguides the public into believing that exposure is safe.