Dr. Strangelove - Jeff Batts
This was my first time viewing the movie. I really enjoyed it, as it was nothing that I was expecting. From the readings, I would have guessed that most the movie took place in the war room. I was pleasantly surprised to find it switching focus from the military base, to the plane, to the war room. Also, I was slightly taken aback by Dr. Strangelove's surprisingly minimal role in the movie, especially since the movie was name after him. Also, it's now nice to place a movie to the scene where the atomic bomb is ridden to the ground, especially after seeing something similar on the Simpsons, knowing it's a parody, and not knowing what it was a parody of.
I can understand why Dr. Strangelove wasn't necessarily a box office smash, as stated in the blog assignment. I feel that movies of that type aren't necessarily seen as important films. By 'of that type' I mean movies dealing with the Cold War being produced during the Cold War. I can see why the public didn't necessarily herald a movie with a negative outcome about a very real issue at the time. However, now knowing the outcome of the Cold War, we look back on Dr. Strangelove as being a great example of a Cold War satire. Likewise, in an attempt (perhaps fruitlessly) to make a comparison to a contemporary film, should the global warming issue have a major effect on the earth, perhaps we will look back on 'The Day After Tomorrow' as a Hollywood benchmark on global warming. I should probably feel ashamed for comparing Dr. Strangelove to The Day After Tomorrow.
I think the main reasons Dr. Strangelove has been able to find acclaim 40+ years after its release are the characters in the film. I really enjoyed all the stereotypes (is that bad?) portrayed. There was Mandrake, the British who was seemed sort of feminine; Ripper, the general who just wanted to kill Russians; De Sadesky, the Russian who took every opportunity to spy on the US...The Charles Maland article (on page 10) pointed out an interesting bit that I definitely would have missed on the film. The main characters who were against the attack were President Muffley and Mandrake, which have female sexual connotations. Meanwhile, all the other characters were about as aggressive as you could get, calling for the US to cripple Russia with nukes.
All this has led to the survival of Dr. Strangelove as a classic from the Cold War. I wonder if it would still be considered so good if the Cold War resulted in a global nuclear war. I would guess that people would find it to be making light of such a horrible tragedy, and the movie would be more condemned than lauded. However, seeing as things turned out relatively okay, I think it's good to be able to view a film that takes a lighthearted, satirical outlook on the whole situation.
Jeff Batts