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The China Syndrome: Difference between revisions
If it's a joke, it's not Did Not Do the Research; added trope.
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Looney Toons (talk | contribs) (If it's a joke, it's not Did Not Do the Research; added trope.) |
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''China Syndrome'' came out during the Post-Watergate era, at a time when the public was in a paranoid mood about the people - [[Strawman Political|politicians]], [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|the corporations]], [[Strawman News Media|the media]] - who seemed to be in charge of things. What made this movie stand out was that on March 28, 1979 (two weeks after ''Syndrome'' was released) [[wikipedia:Three Mile Island accident|the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster]] took place, making what was a standard thriller into a prescient piece of film-making.
Note that nothing actually happens in or to China; the title comes from a joke that if a nuclear reactor did have a meltdown it [[
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* [[Bittersweet Ending]]: {{spoiler|Jack dies, and the company tries to pin the blame on Jack by calling him insane. Kim finds Jack's friend Ted and forces him on live television to admit Jack [[Moment of Awesome|"was the sanest man I know"]], and that there ought to be an investigation into the disaster.}}
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* [[Book Ends]]: The film opens and closes on a shot of a TV monitor showing bars and tone.
* [[Cool Pet]]: Kim has a pet tortoise.
* [[Digging to China]]: The conceit behind the joke name for a meltdown -- that it would burn its way all the way through the Earth to "China".
* [[Foreshadowing]]: The second tremor that Jack felt during the accident. It haunts Jack until the end, when it's {{spoiler|revealed to be the main coolant pump cavitating as it goes to maximum power during a SCRAM, which stresses its sub-standard welds}}.
* [[Oh Crap]]: Pretty much everyone's expression when they realize that the water level indicator they've been using through the incident has been stuck on "high", giving very false indications. Jack Godell taps the glass and the needle drops down to a level only a few inches above the reactor core falling dry.
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