A Circle and Three Lines

More extended sound bite than penetrating documentary, Jan Selby's A Circle and Three Lines is a 10-minute film about the meaning and origin of the universally recognizable peace symbol. Created in 1958 by English graphic artist Gerald Holtom for a demonstration against nuclear weapons, the design takes its inspiration from the semaphore gestures for the letters N and D (standing for “nuclear disarmament”). Remarkably, this brief program crams in hundreds of images illustrating the ubiquity of the motif over the past 50 years (which was labeled as the mark of the devil by the John Birch Society), while its continuing appeal is underscored here by enthusiastic T-shirt hawkers and ordinary folks of all ages who talk about what it means to them. Serving up an interesting if also notably brief account of a familiar cultural symbol, this is recommended, overall. Aud: C, P. (F. Gardner)