The Day After

This made for TV movie aired when I was in 6th grade and traumatized my entire generation. It's set in Lawrence, Kansas, where a nuclear exchange begins and cannot be stopped. The accurate depiction of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) was so accurate that it had an impact on then president Ronald Reagan. For us kids, the melting eyeballs told us everything we needed to know about the idiocy of our leaders. Want to know where the prevailing sense of dread and Gen X ennui came from? Start here!

More about the films impact here.

The cast includes JoBeth Williams, Steve Guttenberg, John Cullum, Jason Robards, and John Lithgow.