Radiohead’s 2007 song “Four Minute Warning” begins with the British Broadcasting Company’s real recorded warning message that was prepared during the Cold War.
Later songs in the 50’s and 60’s are notably less serious, and often compared the power of atomic bombs to sex, including The Cuff Links’ 1956 “Guided Missiles.” Throughout the year after 1945, atomic pop songs were mixed with sarcastic and licentious comparisons and a quiet perpetual fear of real nuclear war. That life might continue after the next nuclear war was not considered an option. Atomic war is also caught up in notions of divine judgment, implying that the next use of atomic weapons would certainly destroy the entire world. The Buchanan Brother’s 1946 country hit “Atomic Power” exemplifies the popular opinion held in the early years after the bomb: “Hiroshima, Nagasaki paid a big price for their sin /When scorched from the face of earth their battles could not win/But on that day of judgment when comes a greater power/We will not know the minute and we’ll not know the hour.” This song brings together the complicated relationship between American patriotism for winning the war, and the immediate visceral fear of future nuclear war.
Starting in 1946, “atomic pop” proliferated through the Atomic Age and the Cold War, engendering the apocalyptic narrative into American culture. Where did apocalyptic narratives shift from ultimate annihilation to a heroic narrative about rebuilding society, and how does Fallout provide a moral compass for navigating the post-apocalypse?
Although the apocalypse was once seen as the ultimate end, post-apocalyptic narratives make room for life afterwards, a life inherently fraught with ethical dilemmas about how to rebuild society. However, a shift can be seen from apocalyptic fears in the years after the bomb, to the post-apocalyptic heroic narratives told today in video games like Fallout. From the “atomic pop” that proliferated on the radio in the 1940s and 50s, to the 20 releases of post-apocalyptic video games Fallout 3 and Fallout 4, this recurring theme exemplifies how ingrained the apocalyptic narrative is in Western culture. For more details check out the specific companion's page.Since the first atom bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, pop culture has imagined and re-imagined apocalyptic narratives.
For example, if someone doesn't like you for being too generous, that doesn't mean they won't appreciate it when you are being generous towards them or those they care. Also note that the chart is only a general guideline, and your companions will sometimes react differently according to the context of your action. Note thatĭogmeat has 100% natural affinity and is not swayed by your in game decisions. The following is a look at how in game actions affect companion affinity. In addition to the classifications shown below, there are other specific actions that affect affinity, typically associated with approval or disapproval of certain This increase is not announced like the actions mentioned below, but can be observed nonetheless. Occasionally the affinity will continue to be frozen until the corresponding quest has progressed sufficiently.Ī companion's affinity will naturally rise slowly as they and the sole survivor travel together. This could just be a simple chit-chat about how they appreciate you, or the start of a new quest. When affinity reaches 249, 499, 749, and 999, it will sometimes be temporarily frozen, while the companion in question will try to talk with the sole survivor. Technically, affinity is an actor value, typically starting out at 0.