The Nuclear Option: A Utopian Dream or an Apocalyptic Nightmare?

The Three Mile Island nuclear plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania experienced a partial meltdown on March 28, 1979. Two weeks prior, The China Syndrome, a blockbuster film that portrays a scenario eerily similar to what occurred at Three Mile Island, came out in theaters. Press coverage of the nuclear incident and strong connections to the film created a media storm that brought widespread attention to nuclear energy production. No new nuclear plants have been constructed in the United States since Three Mile Island. Existing plants still produce power, but the industry’s growth is stagnant and the technology is polarizing even today. How did print media coverage of the Three Mile Island nuclear incident and comparisons to the film The China Syndrome contribute to polarization surrounding the use of commercial nuclear energy in the United States? In this paper I trace the development of public attitudes towards nuclear energy over time and focus primarily on cultural attitudes immediately preceding Three Mile Island. I then analyze The China Syndrome and a selection of news articles about Three Mile Island from both national and local news outlets. I came to the conclusion that abundant communication, emotionally charged communication, and poor communication characterized the media surrounding Three Mile Island and contributed to the polarization about the use of commercial nuclear power in the United States. Nuclear energy is viewed by some as the path to a “Utopian Dream” and by others to an “Apocalyptic Nightmare”. The media did not cause these ideas, but rather facilitated the spread of them.Liberal Art