Americans during the 60s lived in constant fear of nuclear war, especially after the Cuban Missile Crisis. The film shows how easy it is for one person to destroy the world in a nuclear firestorm if governments are not careful enough. Ripper’s argument about fluoridated water also reflects the belief of some Americans that fluorine was actually a Cold War weapon by the Soviets to turn American communist. General Jack D. Ripper himself also served to present an American stereotype along with General Turgidson. They both seeked to destroy the Soviet Union without any care to logic or human life. Turgidson, in particular, reminds me of Patton, who wanted to invade the Soviet Union after WWII, and MacArthur, who wanted to invade China during the Korean War. Both of these generals epitomize how people thought of Americans as zealously anti communist and violently stupid. Additionally, Dr. Strangelove and his proposal for fallout shelters show how much the Cold War interfered with Americans’ lives with the constant duck and cover drills and shelters for nuclear war. Finally, the captain of the B-52, King Kong, also represents American stereotypes with his southern accent and his patriotic final act of sitting on top of the bomb while it is falling down towards the Soviet Union. When he found out about the orders, he did not question them and went down fighting. Many people regarded Americans as gun toting southerners who were just as patriotic as they were trigger
This movie follows the fictional Dr. Strangelove and the US president as they struggle to avoid all out nuclear war with the Soviet Union, along with also avoiding the dreaded Soviet Doomsday Device. The countdown begins when General Ripper, who is afraid that adding florid to US water supplies is a soviet plot, calls for a all out nuclear strike on the soviet union and he is the only man who can recall it. The main argument made in this film is how the largely absurd Red Scare after World War 2 looks when viewed in a comedic way. Not only does this film highlight the Red Scare but other “hot topics” of the time, including: Fluoridation of US waters, US use of Nazi Scientists and movies sexualization of the time.
Kane, Kathryn. Visions of War: Hollywood Combat Films of World War II. Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1982.
It is natural that the significance of events decays with the passage of time, such events remain alive in the history forever for reference of generations ahead. The episodes of events that may be termed as the most significant of the last century is the Cold War that happens to retain any relevancy in modern times. With the death of Soviet union and world turning from bipolar to unipolar shape, the incredible saga of cold war is over but its distressing memories are still alive in the minds of the people around the world as it happened to shape up the destiny of at least a couple of generations in every corner of the world. In particular, the cold war affected every aspect of American life for over 30 years. The foreign policy, political doctrines, economy, education and even the media felt the impact of cold war for a painful amount of time. In that way, the cold war shaped up the lives of entire American nation and they lived a life of uncertainty for more than a quarter century. Before coming back to the subject of impact of cold war on films, it is imperative to understand a brief history of cold war. The origins of the cold war dates back to decade of 1910’s when American felt the scare of communism for the first time. American Skepticism of communism, spearheaded by Soviet Union, as the potential threat to American sponsored ideology of democracy remained consistent for next 20 years and it even aggravated with the usurpation of Josef Stalin's ferocious regime. The apprehensive feelings attributed towards Soviet Union in the mindset of American leadership subsided for a while; rather they took a sharp reversal of policies, as the clouds of Nazi threat appeared on the skies of world politics. With the advent of 2nd world ...
6. "Deterrence is the art of producing, in the mind of the enemy, the fear to attack." -Dr. Strangelove. Deterrence in the film was the fear of the consequences of the nuclear attacks. It's significant because it encompasses idea of the Cold War.
...ion allows the film to exist unto itself with its totality defined by distinctive (independent) subjectivity. Like in many of his other movies, Kubrick litters Full Metal Jacket with symbolism and metaphor, but these directorial techniques need not be examined to enjoy or understand the plot of the movie. Although the split nature of the film expounds upon both the ability of the viewer to concentrate and be distracted by representations (logic vs. overriding emotion), it is also an exhibit for the dualist nature of man, i.e., the final marching chant. The use of a Disney song in any respect implies an association to innocence and good-will; applying it as a closing scene in a sequence that is dominated by a tirade of destruction is a more obvious symbolic gesture on Kubrick’s part. Can man be both malicious & peaceful? Or is man both? Through making both explicit distinctions and connections between mercy and vengeance in the human condition as evidenced in Full Metal Jacket as the preparation for (1st half) and execution of technique (2nd half) when existing in a war-state, Kubrick illustrates the disjunctive corollary (1st half & 2nd half) that war is organized chaos.
... out of a 1950s woman's film. The melodramatic influences of the film continue to manifest themselves in the newer release, just as Apocalypse Now continues to influence the epic movies of contemporary filmmakers. The unison of operatic spectacle and personal conflict spawned an original genre in the 1970s that remains an effective method of addressing social concerns. As we enter another period of political unrest and social change, it is likely that a new wave of melodramatic films is beginning to form on the horizon; there are certainly parallels between a government that declares war on terrorism and the U.S. army in Vietnam, who "knew everything about military tactics, but nothing about where they were or who the enemy was" (Cowie 143). From Conrad to Coppola, nuclear family to nuclear terrorism; never get off the boat, unless you're willing to go all the way.
The 1950s was indeed a decade of contradiction. Americans were both optimistic in the post-war economic times and scared in the shadow of the Cold War and the Atomic Age. Hollywood released many films during this period that reflected society’s paranoia and fears. Their paranoia was perpetuated by their fear of invasion and espionage, the fear of radiation and the fear of social change. Many of the films produced used the science fiction genre to dig deeper into these fears without frightening the audiences off from their political message.
The 1947 film ‘Brighton Rock’, based on the 1938 Graham Greene novel of the same name, was one of the more controversial films of the time. Grenne worked on the adaptation of the novel, credited as co-writer of the screenplay. Greene is infamous for attacking popular culture and the social, political and economic systems of the time. Books such as ‘Brighton Rock’, ‘A Gun for Hire’ and ‘The Ministry of Fear’ can all be viewed as a commentary on the state of humanity, whereas the film adaptations of these books are more concerned with...
The three sources being analyzed are Stephen Crane's poem “War is Kind”, Stanley Kubrick's film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, and Joseph Heller's novel Catch- 22. Each source covers a chapter in American War history: The Civil War, The Cold War, and World War II, respectively. Though the wars on which the works are based occurred over a period of over one-hundred years, all three sources share a similar theme. That is, war is anything but heroic and noble, but rather, it is a convoluted, tragic, and crooked state of affairs that results in the death of many. Though this theme unifies all three works, the authors and director convey their messages uniquely. In his heartfelt and tragic poem, “War is Kind”, Stephen Crane writes about the sadness that comes with the death of individual soldiers during battle, and uses sarcasm to convey his message. On the other hand, Heller and Kubrick deliver an equally powerful message about the absurdities of war through use of dark humour and satire, though Kubrick's film focuses much more on comedic value as opposed to Heller's more bitter and realistic novel.
Suid, Lawrence. "The Pentagon and Hollywood: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)." American History/ American Film: Interpreting the Hollywood Image. Eds. John E. O'Connor and Martin A. Jackson. Boston: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1979.
The whole premise of the film is based on insubordination committed by General Jack D. Ripper. Named after the infamous serial killer of prostitutes, General Ripper claims his “loss of essence” is because of the Communist’s use of water fluoridation, a completely off-base theory by the general to explain his impotency , and uses his military status to start a cataclysmic nuclear war with Russia. This in itself is comical because that inane and inherent need to dominate and prove both physical and sexual prowess seems to exist solely in males and in Kubrick’s eyes serves as an origin for this unwarranted war between two overly capable countries. The cigar, machinegun, and pistol that Ge...
Fritz Lang's Metropolis is a very powerful movie with various underlying meanings that allow the viewer to determine for himself. The movie itself is extremely difficult and hard to follow, although the essay "The Vamp and the Machine: Technology and Sexuality in Fritz Lang's Metropolis" written by Andreas Huyssen provided many helpful insights to aid in understanding the movie. Many of Huyssen's idea's are a bit extreme, but none the less the essay is very beneficial. His extreme views include ideas of castration and how it relates with the female robot, and sexulaity and how it relates technology. Although these ideas are extreme he does also provide many interesting ideas.
Often times, the vast entirety of the world populous enjoy movies for their entertainment or insight value, as well as the variety of topics of which they offer. The Cold War, a popular theme among many films, perpetuated from 1945, following World War II, until 1991. As the historical tensions between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Russia, USSR, the two nations came to stand off, only to be interceded by the all too unfortunate and plausible concept of Mutually Assured Destruction. The era raises the question and sense of awareness for each country of the other’s strength, striking fear into those who lived to see it unfold. The American society, in an effort to raise public awareness of the threat that lay at its door step, turns to the entertainment industry for assistance in their dilemma. Between 1982 and 1991, during the rise of the burgeoning motion picture industry and the apex of the Cold War, several motion pictures make their debut where they depict Soviet Russia and its destructive and innovative potential. These films based within the time period, such as The Hunt for Red October, Red Dawn and War Games, are noteworthy examples of American propaganda during the later period of the Cold War and its distortion of what threats lie at the relative east in an effort to raise concern over the intercontinental standoff.
“Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!” Most famously quoted from the movie Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, this black and white satiric film produced and co-written by Stanley Kubrick in 1964, is a prime example of Kenneth Waltz’s Realist theories in regards to International theory.