Twelve Thousand Bombs: Screening ‘The Bomb’ by Smriti Keshari

Nuclear weapons did not disappear with the end of the Cold War. Presently, there are over 12,000 nuclear bombs on earth, owned by 9 nations, kept on the tips of missiles in submarines and silos on hair trigger alert. For the first time this century, nuclear weapons are in the spotlight. Nuclear tensions between the U.S. and Russia have been steadily escalating following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while China silently arms itself to reach parity as a third nuclear superpower. Iran is likely to obtain nuclear weapons in the next few years, while North Korean missiles may soon be capable of reaching the continental United States. Against this backdrop, the U.S. is currently undertaking a $1.5 trillion modernization campaign of its nuclear arsenal, but is this actually necessary for global security or is misguided U.S. military spending driving a new arms race that endangers us all? This seminar series will explore the real dangers and legacy of harm from nuclear weapons so that the ISU community can be informed citizens in a nuclear age.

Twelve Thousand Bombs will run through the spring 2024 semester. A full schedule of seminars is available HERE

Filmmaker Smriti Keshari will be joining us at Normal Theater for a screening of her film “The Bomb,” open free to the general public. “The Bomb” is an experimental art film about the current nuclear world order, with an original score by electronic band The Acid. It was created alongside author Eric Schlosser, writer of “Command and Control” (2014), and premiered in 2016 at the Tribeca Film Festival and received high praise at the Berlin Film Festival the next year. Smriti will be present for a Q&A after the screening, following which there will be a reception on site. The Bomb Trailer

Film by Smriti Keshari, Eric Schlosser, and Kevin Ford.

Smriti Keshari is an Indian-American multimedia artist and filmmaker whose work covers a spectrum of the moving image from traditional, linear filmmaking to art installations. She brings an experimental approach to exploring under-represented themes and experiences outside the mainstream.

She is an artist-in-residence with the National Theatre in London, as well as the Brooklyn Academy of Music: BAM and Pioneer Works in Brooklyn. Her work has been supported by the MacArthur Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation, the Ford Foundation, and other prominent non-profits. She has spoken about art and social change at SXSW, the United Nations,  Bloomberg Philanthropy and TED. She was a TED Prize finalist and  a 2016 Foreign Policy Global Creative Thinker.