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Spencer R. Weart's The Rise Of Nuclear Fear

Decent Essays

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown” (H.P. Lovecraft). There is a common phenomenon that humans tend to fear the unknown. This occurrence is human instinct. Humans like to know what, when, and why something happens. Often this fear drives everyday lives. Technology is a major unknown. Self-driving cars are an astounding invention; however, The thought of being in one is terrifying. No one can fully understand the depths of technology because it is constantly evolving, and that is scary. In Spencer R. Weart’s work, The Rise of Nuclear fear, He discusses the need for trust in the officials who control these unknowns. Without trust, fear will only rise. This is …show more content…

The way these people are dying has never been seen before—the brains and spinal cords of each victim are sucked out of their body through the back of their neck. This occurrence is terrifying and many fear that they will be next. The deaths cannot be stopped. Along with the deaths, the locals do not know much about the power plant. This fear of the unknown drives their concerns. Humans feel a need to know cause and effect, yet this is completely unknown for the locals. Eventually, a major discovery is made. A local scientist created the evil creatures causing the deaths. The power from the nuclear plant feeds these creatures and makes them visible to the characters of the movie. This turning point is when the movie becomes scary for the viewers. Fiend Without a Face shows the consequences of nuclear energy getting into the wrong hands. Like the movie Frankenstein, the scientist takes his creation too far and ends up hurting innocent lives. The thought of this occurring with nuclear power is what makes nuclear power particularly scary. Think about the past wars involving nuclear energy. People were never afraid of the nuclear power from the United States, but the nuclear energy from other countries. They were afraid of what might happen if one decided to misuse the power. In short, nuclear power is not scary if one is able to live in peace and trust who is in charge of it. It becomes scary when abuse gets out of

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