Disco & Atomic War

The most dangerous weapon of war has always been the one you cannot see. Invisibility is the ultimate tactic, but when the threat is also intangible, there is no stopping it. This weapon is called “Soft Power,” otherwise known as propaganda. Learn all about it in DISCO & ATOMIC WAR, a revealing documentary that takes us through a study of the influential effects of Eastern European media from the beginning of the Cold War to present day. Jaak, Urve, Joosep, and Toomas are the four subjects of this film, which illustrates the ideological battles between Communist Russia and Capitalist United States over places like Finland and Estonia throughout the past century. America's “Soft Power” during the Cold War was overwhelmingly successful as the curiosity of Eastern Europeans was tempted with television and pop culture. The resistance to this Western influence by Soviet powers proved powerless as a new window into the “real world” became more important to the people than tradition and conventional beliefs. The iron curtain that had previously sheltered such reserved villages was torn down by Finnish TV and the introduction of freedom of speech, citizens' rights, and, of course, disco. DISCO & ATOMIC WAR is a clever documentary that will remind you just how powerful and effectual pop culture can be. (In English, Estonian, Russian, and Finnish with subtitles) – M.M.