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

Introduction

The untold story of film as a chemical cousin to poison gas and nuclear weapons, shaped by centuries of violent extraction.

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 centurys 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 for the Manhattan Projecturanium mined in the Belgian Congo and destined for the bomb that fell on Hiroshima. While the worlds largest film manufacturer transformed into a formidable military contractor, across the ocean its competitor Agfa grew entangled with Nazi Germanys machinery of war. After 1945, Kodaks film factories stood at the front lines of a new, colder war, as their photosensitive products became harbingers of the dangers of nuclear fallout.

Following scientists, soldiers, prisoners, and spies through Kodaks and Agfas global empires, Alice Lovejoy links the golden age of cinema and photography to colonialism, the military-industrial complex, radioactive dust, and toxic waste. Revelatory and chilling, Tales of Militant Chemistry shows how film became a weapon whose chemistry irrevocably shaped the world we live in today.

Specs:

Author: Alice Lovejoy
Publish Date: August 26, 2025
Format:Hard Cover
Publisher: University of California Press
Language:English
Book Size: 5.5 x 1.1 x 8.5 inches
Pages: 256
Illustrations: 28 B&W figures
ISBN: 9780520402935

In The Box:

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