Dr. Strangelove Notes Essay

Dr. Strangelove is one of the many masterpieces made by the great Stanley Kubrick. The movie was made in 1964 at the Shepperton Studios in London, UK. The time the movie was made is of great importance, in fact, it was made only two years after the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kubrick pictures, in an extremely comical yet somewhat serious way, what the world would look like after one of the two forces (U.S vs. USSR) was triggered in initializing nuclear warfare.

The Cuban Missile Crisis forever marked 1962 as the year the world almost witnessed a nuclear war. The Soviet Union, Cuba, and the United States were all teetering on the edge of a cliff that was crumbling from the weight of fear, tension, and secrecy. It also marked the official end of Americans innocent belief that they were safe in the glow of Lady Liberty’s torch. Yet amidst the dark shadow of nuclear threat one American president rose to this challenge and proved that peace through strength is the best strategy.

Stanley Kubrick’s sexual parody, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, illustrates an unfathomed nuclear catastrophe. Released in the midst of the Cold War, this 1964 film satirizes the heightened tensions between America and Russia. Many sexual insinuations are implemented to ridicule the serious issue of a global nuclear holocaust, in an effort to countervail the terror that plagued America at that time. Organizing principles, such as Kubrick’s blunt political attitudes about the absurdity of war and the satirical genre, are echoed by the film style of his anti-war black comedy, Dr. Strangelove.

Even though Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb screened in the midst of the sobering Cold War, critics were keen on praising the film for its mastery of humor applied to such a sensitive matter. The film is exceedingly loaded with metaphors, innuendos, and allusions that nothing can be left undissected or taken for face value; the resulting effect is understood to be part of Kubrick’s multifarious theme. Kubrick has stated that what began as a “the basis for a serious film about accidental war ” eventually birthed an absurd and farcical classic comedy. The director fuses together irony, satire, and black humor to create a waggish piece but most of all the situation of the times and its

The recurring image of turning gears and clocks in the film is noteworthy.The constant ticking of the clocks, present throughout the movie, gives the viewer a very vivid awareness of time passing.Like the drunken Uncle Claude tells Hugo, “Time is everything.” This is effectively portrayed by the plight of Georges Melies (Ben Kingsley).Time has stolen everything from him, and only a broken shell of a man is left in his place.He struggles to come in terms with the current times, where his life’s work is reduced to nothing but a pair of shoe heels.

Stanley Kubrick's 1971 film production of the Anthony Burgess novel, A Clockwork Orange, is a truly unforgettable film.  It is narrated by one of the most vicious characters ever put on screen, Alex DeLarge.  The promotional poster for the film advertised it as "The adventures of a young man whose principle interests are rape, ultra-violence, and Beethoven" (Dirks 1).  Needless to say, music plays a very important role in A Clockwork Orange.  The expressive use of music in this film gives the viewer a look into the psyche of the vicious Alex, a psyche that equates violence with art.  By doing so, the film shows us the complexity and duality of the human mind through a character who loves both

Although it may not be fair to condemn the automated-response doomsday device on the basis of a single slip-up, the film invalidates the wisdom of that machine by highlighting its dangers. Would any state cede control of its weapons to computers and sensors?6So the problem remains: how to make the incredible credible. A fallback strategy is to introduce illogic and uncertainty into nuclear strategy and nuclear command and control. Akin to throwing the steering wheel out the car window when engaged in a game of chicken, delegating to base commanders the authority to issue strikes decentralizes military control and makes retaliation more likely.

"I would not think of quarreling with your interpretation nor offering any other, as I have found it always the best policy to allow the film to speak for itself."

Knowledge plays a key role in a state’s decision, and erroneous decisions that lead to war often occur due to lack of information. One of the greatest examples that emphasize the importance of information and human rationality was during Cuban Missile Crisis. An article published by The New York Times, written by Neil Genzlinger, highlights the Cuban missile crisis, and how close the United States and the Soviet Union were on the

For the 1964 film “Dr. Strangelove or: How I learned to Stop Worry and Love the Bomb” shows a story that has a crazy United States Air Force general who orders all of his army to have a first strike nuclear attack on the Soviet Union going behind the presidents back without getting his approval. The film has two important characters which include the President of the United States and the United States Air Force general. The president has to work with the Russian leader so they can try and recall the bombers to prevent a nuclear disaster caused by the dropping of the atomic

In order to understand the importance of the Cuban Missile Crisis in American history one must first understand the Cold War drama, Castro’s rise to power, and the American operations that set up the crisis. “The term Cold War refers

The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 reflects possibly the most precarious moment in nuclear history. For the first time, the world’s two nuclear super powers, the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, were poised to destroy each other in a war of unprecedented proportion. On the brink of what may have escalated into a nuclear war, the leaders of two nations showed courageous restraint and diplomacy to avoid an exchange of brute force and unimaginable desolation. The situation was preempted by the Bay of Pigs, an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Fidel Castro, Prime Minister of the Republic of Cuba. Castro had gained authority through a rebellion against Fulgencio Batista, the previous Cuban dictator (Bay of Pigs). America was displeased with Castro, mainly because he was a Communist leader so close to American shores, so a plan to depose him was made, without official United States military support.

This essay concerns the role of political affect in cinema. As a case study, I analyze the 2006 film V for Vendetta as cinematic rhetoric. Adopting a multi-modal approach that focuses on the interplay of discourse, figure, and ground, I contend that the film mobilizes viewers at a visceral level to reject a politics of apathy in favor of a politics of democratic struggle. Based on the analysis, I draw conclusions related to the evaluation of cinematic rhetoric, the political import of mass art, and the character and role of affect in politics.

The good thing about films is that we not only have the opportunity to choose from a wide selection of different genres, but also compare them and understand their purpose in the world. The Horror genre has used the basic principles throughout time, and as a result, films of this type have not proven to be as timeless as another genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy. At first, these two genres might at times seem similar as they have at several occasions been blended together, but their basic, common theme serves different meanings about humans. I shall compare and contrast these two genres and focus on both classic films and modern films. From the Horror genre perspective I shall discuss Psycho (1960) and The Mist (2007), while in the Science Fiction/Fantasy genre I will examine 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), and Serenity (2005). Although the Science Fiction/Fantasy genre and the Horror Genre share some similarities, the differences lie in their focus on human progress.

The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 is undeniably a major confrontation of the Cold War. Lasting for 13 days it is arguably the pinnacle of the Cold War. This crisis was a decisive factor in the United States’ (US) decision process of whether to engage in a nuclear war with the Soviet Union (USSR). However the essential fault of both state leaders (J. Kennedy and N. Khrushchev) which created the inevitable crisis was miscommunication. Today we recognise actions taken by both states during the crisis as consistent with a realist point of view. Realism holds great emphasise on the obstacles enforced by human nature and the non-attendance of an international government. Creating international politics an area focused on power and state-interest.