Pop Culture Artifacts Synthesis

All of the pop culture artifacts have to do with nuclear radiation, and its overall effect on human health. In the Fallout: New Vegas trailer, it opens with a dark and eerie scene of a cowboy smoking a cigarette with jazz music playing in the background. It then goes to a dark graveyard scene where a robot is sifting through rubble caused by nuclear fallout. This symbolizes the harmful effects of radiation, and how it can destroy communities with a single explosion. At the end of the trailer, a voice can be heard saying “war, war never changes”. This means that war, more specifically nuclear warfare, has long-lasting effects. The eeriness of the video has a sad and depressing rhetorical effect. In the evolution of radioactive spiders biting Peter Parker in movies, cartoons, and games shows how a radioactive spider bite greatly affects humans who are bitten. In this specific situation, the radioactive bite actually helps Peter Parker and gives him powers that he did not previously possess, but the radioactive energy still left a major impact. In the video about Bruce Banner, Bruce jumps in front of a gamma radiation explosion in order to protect his friend who was about to be exposed. After this happens, instead of dying or becoming ill, Bruce Banner feels 100% and his prior aches and injuries have vanished. As Peter Parker, the radioactive energy helps him and gives him strength and powers that he would not previously have had if he were not exposed. In the Simpsons episode “Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish”, Bart works with nuclear materials, but he is not careful with them when the whistle blows and it is time to go home. This leads to radioactive material getting on his clothing. When Bart and Lisa are fishing, they catch a fish with 3 eyes, and the government puts it together that the stream is right near a power plant, and that is what’s causing the mutations. This episode shows the effects of nuclear energy while using comedy to help readers relate more to the topic. Lastly, Edward’s reading “Fallout” discusses downwinders, and how they are subject to cancer and eventual death from nuclear radiation. The Grammie in the story was sent to an “invisible death” considering that nuclear fallout is deadly but can not necessarily be seen. The author stresses his hatred for atomic weapons and says, “Celebrating a mushroom cloud, is like rejoicing in the Black Plague”. This excerpt appealed to pathos since it discussed a sad and tragic death from the radiation. Overall, the videos and reading all related to nuclear energy, and how that energy affects so many different aspects of human nature and health, whether factual or fiction.