I am going to try something new here at The Retroist, a contest. If it works out well, maybe I will make it a regular feature. The first DVD I am giving away is the award-winning documentary “Sputnik Mania”. It is an amazing film about America’s reaction to the launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union in 1957.
Here is an official synopsis:
The film leads us through the first year following the launch of Sputnik. In 1958, a nuclear weapon was tested in the atmosphere by either Russia or the United States every three days. By the end of that year, nothing was the same. Sputnik spurred us into an arms and space race, necessitating the creation of an academic army of scientists and engineers. This led to the development of NASA, massive reforms in our education system, and the discoveries that enabled many of the consumer technologies on which we depend today (The Internet, cell phones, global positioning systems, credit card verifications and high-definition televisions). The launch of Sputnik also led to widespread panic, fear and anxiety as leading politicians and the media whipped the public into an escalating mass frenzy – only months after Sputnik’s launch, 60% of Americans thought that nuclear war was imminent and that 50% of the American population would likely die (Gallup Poll, April 1958)
When you watch the film you realize what a confusing time it was in America and veteran David Hoffman expertly catches that feeling with period footage and interviews. As a bonus, the film is narrated by the Liev Schreiber (Sabretooth!) and the DVD not only contains the original documentary, but also a 2nd disc with over 90 minutes of bonus footage.
More information about Sputnik Mania can be found out its official website and at History.com
How to Enter the Contest
Go over to Twitter and friend your friendly neighborhood Retroist at (http://www.twitter.com/retroist). After you have done that, send me an email at theretroist[at]gmail.com with your twitter @username so that I can confirm that we are connected. That’s it. The drawing will be randomly chosen from all entries (1 entry per person). Good Luck.
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