Countdown to Zero Event Review
- Lauren McBroom
- Nov 12, 2015
- 3 min read
“The weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us.”
This powerful quote, spoken by President John F. Kennedy, was the key message conveyed in the critically acclaimed documentary Countdown to Zero. This 2010 documentary was directed by British filmmaker Lucy Walker and argued that the threat of nuclear war is more likely than most people realize because of terrorism, nuclear proliferation, the theft of nuclear materials, and other equally dangerous factors. The only way to stop nuclear war from happening, according to the film, is to eradicate nuclear weapons altogether.
On November 4, a screening of Countdown to Zero on AU’s campus was made possible through a collaboration between PEACE and AU Global Zero. Tim Choi and Stephanie Poulengeris, the presidents of PEACE and AU Global Zero respectively, spoke a little about the mission of their organizations and its relationship with nuclear war before the film started. A Q&A session was held at the end of the event.
The film spent some time discussing specific countries and groups who pose a threat to global security due to their nuclear activity. Two such cases were North Korea and the Japanese extremist group Aum Shinrikyo.
North Korea has a very high-profile relationship with nuclear weapons, as it is one of the main sources of tension between the isolated country and the rest of the world. It’s thought that their nuclear program can be traced all the way back to 1962. At that time, North Korea was beginning to seriously develop their military and went as far as to ask China and the Soviet Union for help in developing nuclear weapons. The documentary discusses how North Korea has not only been able to make those weapons, but has also engaged in the exportation of them to other countries. These countries include Pakistan, Egypt, Syria, and Yemen. Countries in possession of nuclear arms like North Korea increase the chance of a nuclear disaster, according to the film, because of their unpredictability and extreme aggression.
Another group featured in Countdown to Zero is the Japanese death terror cult Aum Shinrikyo, which has been officially labeled by multiple countries as a terrorist organization. It was founded in 1984 by Shoko Asahara as a new religion which believed that World War III would soon be instigated by the United States and would result in the destruction of the planet. Everyone would die except, of course, Shinrikyo and his devoted followers. The group is responsible for the Tokyo Subway sarin attack in 1995 which killed 13 people and injured hundreds more. Members of Aum Shinrikyo have been traced back to assassinations, airplane hijackings, extortion, kidnappings, and other crimes, including the 1989 murders of anti- cult lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto, his wife, and their infant son. The documentary focuses on an attempt by Aum Shinrikyo to purchase nuclear weapons to spark the beginning their apocalypse prophecy as well as rumors that the group had been experimenting with doomsday weapons in Western Australia.
Overall, the documentary does a very good job of explaining the threat of nuclear weapons and what should be done to ensure peace. Its powerful vision of a nuke-free world stays with viewers long after the film has ended. This much is clear: getting these weapons out of the hands of countries and groups like North Korea and Aum Shinrikyo is vital not only to the safety of East Asia but also the entire planet.
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