Dr. Strangelove set us up the bomb, Dominic Nemmers
The film Dr. Strangelove or How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, is a clever satirical piece about nuclear war and the absurd circumstances surrounding it. Much technology seems to pervade the films action, from the “big screen� depicting the locations of the planes which are attacking Russia, to the B-52 bombers delivering the atomic bombs to their final destinations to the bombs themselves. This movie tends to portray technology as a thing which can be used for either good or evil, but it shows the way it can be used for evil being much more successful than the attempts to stop those evil acts. I think it shows this dichotomy to show that no matter how far we have come as a society technologically, nothing is as foolproof as it seems. The methods of delivering evil, such as the B-52’s ability to still function after being hit by an anti-aircraft missile serves as an example of really turning what we think of as “good� and “evil� things on their head. I believe the portrayal of the military by this movie is a fair one, albeit a bit too humorous for my taste. The character of “Gen. 'Buck' Turgidson� played by George C. Scott I thought stole the show. He showed an amazing acting ability and very witty comic timing. The character he portrayed however, I felt was a bit unfair to the military as a whole. He was ready to throw away the lives of many people based on just a hunch that it might save some American lives when I don’t believe the actual people in command would act so hastily. I do agree that many of the villains in this movie are portrayed more as a “lovable lunatic� than villains, but I think that serves the purpose of trying to really humanize them. It is far easier to hate a villain who is out and out evil, while you have to at least attempt to rationalize the behavior of a man who is acting for his country, as in the example of General Ripper. I think that Kubrick’s use of a “Black Comedy� to portray nuclear war as a thinking point to the world is an effective and enjoyable one.