Summary Of Cat's Cradle And 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

Charles Maland’s argument for the 1964 film Dr. Strangelove is that it was one of the most “fascinating and important American films of the 1960s.” He backs up his argument with evidence of the films rejection of the Ideology of Liberal Consensus, its attack on “crackpot realism” and critique of life in the 1960s Cold War era, and finally its paradoxical revolution that sets an example for other films to come after.

Many classic books written many decades ago talked about the future and what they predicted would happen. Many focused on the meaning of life and technology. The two books I selected to read this summer is Cat's Cradle and 1984.The book Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut starts with the main character Jonah researching about the Hiroshima bombing and how Americans are dealing with it.While researching he comes across a group of people, the Hoenikkers, and together they discover the religion of Bokononism. The second book that I read was 1984 by George Orwell. This book talks about a group of people called the Party watches everyone and plans to ban the rights of individuality. The novel 1984 written by George Orwell is the best choice to add on

On the brink of discovery there is a thrilling glow of hope and promise. The hope of a betterment of life as it is and the promise of something new and exciting. The turn of the twentieth century was this threshold of opportunity and anticipation, and a booming era for scientists and inventors alike. Between 1900 and 1920 a plethora of modern day conveniences and concepts were brought to life. Without this unique period in time civilization might have had to do without escalators, Gillette’s double edged safety razor, modern vacuum cleaners, air conditioning, the Teddy Bear, crayons, airplanes, E=mc2, automobiles, Life Savers candy, and the bra, just to name a few.1 Along with the glitter of innovation can come an unintentional (and sometimes

<br>I. Kurt Vonnegut has a great awareness of the destructive social impact of science and technology.

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 science-fiction film genre serves as an excellent medium for examining shifting power structures, social paranoia and Cold War politics during the 1950s. A number of films released during this period, including: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Them (1954) and Attack of the 50ft Woman (1958), are particularly symptomatic of the social and political atmosphere of the time. These films navigate not only narrative based issues such as the threat of aliens and science experiments gone wrong; but also wider issues of the time, such as the Cold War, changes in the US film industry, urbanisation, politics, the growing power of women and most significantly, social concern about nuclear energy.

Throughout history, people have made works of art both praising and criticizing the development of science and technology. The novel by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, shows an older form of this type of work, while the film, Ex Machina, shows the modern version of this. In both of the stories a new being is created, and while in the film the consequences of creating life are somewhat more thought out, both result in the deaths of the creators and others. This paper is going to analyze how different aspects of these two pieces compare including: their characters, their stories, and the themes or morals of the works. Both Frankenstein and Ex Machina involve realizing the complexities of life. They highlight the strengths and weaknesses of man, and warn of the advancements of the sciences. While neither are outright saying that science and advancement is a bad thing, they warn of the consequences of new technologies as well as the lack of understanding and planning. In the end, both of these stories warn and teach the reader or viewer about the shortcomings of mankind.

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.

Throughout this semester our literary material dealt with themes of technology, modernization, the imponderable bloom, human nature, and truth to name a few of the most overarching. Each text has woven an impression of the possible near future for humanity if the patterns we are creating continue at an exponential rate. Patterns such as consumerism, neglecting unpleasurable emotions, using drugs, and controlling the environment for our short term benefits will write an unsavory and inevitable future. Science Fiction often reflects on society by exaggerating their negative characteristics and advancements to seem far-out, but often it is ironic how close many aspects of the fiction are a direct reflection of the present condition. Even now, the possibilities of utopias and dystopias forming are not so out of reach. The ability of our culture to control an entire population with a self-satisfied culture of vices outfitted with technology is less and less science fiction as the years pass.

In a genre whose name ostensibly welcomes innovation—science fiction—resistance towards technology may initially seem counterintuitive. This, however, is where it is essential to delve into the annals of history. Writers, after all, write what they know. In an 1948 essay, George Orwell wrote, “When you are on a sinking ship, your thoughts will be about sinking

From Frankenstein to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to Metropolis, the mad scientist is one of the modern world's most instantly recognizable and entertaining cultural icons. Popular culture's fascination with demented doctors, crazed clinicians, and technologically fanatical fiends have dominated the major motifs of popular literature and film for most of the 20th century and this fascination will continue into the 21st century. An

H.G. Wells is one among the most celebrated figures in 20th century literature. Wells’ novels in particular, the War of the Worlds, reflect the antecedents of a new genre of writing. The greatest among modern writers lived during a period of transition between two centuries. Wells’ period is the stage wherein socialism emerged as a revolution for democracy and when the discoveries of modern science as we know it today are just emerging. Characteristically, his literary works are often a melding of topics about technology and sociology. Critical analysis of Wells’ novels suggests a message that he wished to impart to the public. This paper seeks to explore H.G. Wells’ ideas based from his novel. In particular, the author would like to assess

In Cat’s Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut investigates the negative impacts that can result from humanities pursuit of knowledge through literary structure, irony, and symbolism. Kurt Vonnegut, well known for his pessimistic attitude and writing concerning the flaws of human nature, focuses this energy into Cat’s Cradle. Using satire interweaved with poetry, Vonnegut is successful in challenging the merits of human progress.

Other phrases throughout the first four pages use words like "nightmare", "destroy", "haunt", and "anguish" to attract readers to how seriously society takes awareness of science. These phrases get readers to feel the urgency of the views against science in society. The dark phrasing successfully shows that society has taken a responsible view against incorrect scientific application.