The Beginning or the End

Life vs. Look


Time vs. Newsweek

These magazines were always in competition for best in culture and world view. 60 years ago this month Look was headlining the Housing mess, Better Babies, 10 Leading Killers, and …Easter Hats on the cover ?!

2 years after “the Bomb” MGM made a docudrama, The Beginning or the End (1947), on the creation and dropping of the first atomic bomb. Another version of the Oak Ridge story. The title is Hollywood’s attempt at filling seats. Seems dated now. An Inconvenient Truth (2006) was a bit more subtle in attempting to advance a point of view. The movie was promoted just inside the front cover as if selling soap.

(click to enlarge)