Tales of Militant Chemistry - Alice Lovejoy

About Tales of Militant Chemistry : The Film Factory in a Century of War

Hollywood may sell glitz, but the story behind the film industry as we know it is far from glamorous. From Nazi Germany to the Manhattan Project to the Cold War, Tales of Militant Chemistry tells the revelatory and chilling story of how the same materials that made film and photography possible also powered war and environmental devastation.

The history of film calls to mind unforgettable photographs, famous directors, and the glitz and hustle of the media business. But there is another tale to tell that connects film as a material to the twentieth century’s history of war, destruction, and cruelty.

This story comes into focus during World War II at the factories of Tennessee Eastman, where photographic giant Kodak produced the rudiments of movie magic. Not far away, at Oak Ridge, Kodak was also enriching uranium…