Dr. Strangelove remains as one of the most interesting films that were acted in the 1960s during the Cold War episodes between the United States of America and the Soviet Union in regard to superpower phenomenon and the nuclear war age. In essence, this film was acted in 1964 as a black comedy in which issues that were considered as a forbidden in the society were perceived in a satirical and humorous way while maintaining the seriousness that the issue at hand carried. In line with this, Dr. Strangelove is an American film, meant to be a comedy that centers on a mistake that is done by a US Air Force General, Ripper, who releases his men to bomb the Soviet Union with nuclear bombs as a way of defending the US against a perceived conspiracy attack from the Soviet Union that was meant to contaminate water that would affect the composition of body fluids in human beings (Shapiro, 2002).
However, when it is realized that the orders to bomb the Soviet Union were inapt, an executive officer of USAF general works on recalling the plane to avert a nuclear catastrophe but he is denied the recall codes by General Ripper. On the other hand, the President is not sure whether the proposal that give mandate to field officers to attack the Soviet Union incase of an eminent attack on the US. When Moscow is contacted, the Soviet Union President argues that they have prepared a doomsday device that had the ability of obliterate the whole earth in case of an attack. At the end, of these episodes, the US recalls some of the planes while some are shot down except one which had jammed electronic after being attacked. This plane heads for the nearest site, ICBM Complex where it drops and detonates bombs aboard it. The doomsday device does not detonate. On the other hand, the Germany-born Soviet scientist argues that life would end in ten months time and therefore, there was need to build a bunker to secure the lives of a few people in the society who would procreate again to fill the earth. This would take 100 years (Shapiro, 2002).
-
0
Preparing Orders
-
0
Active Writers
-
0%
Positive Feedback
-
0
Support Agents
This film is an excellent characterization of the Cold War that began immediately after the World War II and heightened in 1960s and 1970s. The incidences in this film portray the tension that existed between the US and the Soviet Union as they fought in a Cold War to show the world their supremacy in terms of nuclear power. In reference to Booker (2001), Dr. Strangelove captures the lunacy of the Cold War mentality, while at the same time suggesting that certain American attributes in the Cold War might had been inherited from the Nazis (p.101). The Americans were anxious concerning the Cold War and the Soviet Union and they could easily have bombed the Soviet Union out of false information as a result of this. This is depicted in the scene where the USAF general orders an attack on suspicions that were not confirmed.
The whole film of Dr. Strangelove contains different scenes of men who were soaked in stereotype thinking in the sense that the characters in this film were related to the real characters, especially in the American society (Shapiro, 2002, p.145). In line with this, the United States does not in any way trust the technology that is used by the Soviet Union even if it was offered this technology. This was a result of the fact that the US believed that it was a superpower and therefore, its technological standards were higher than those of the Soviet Union. Additionally, the US did not trust in any help that emanated from the Soviet Union and could do all things possible to ensure that its men received help from what ware termed to be friendly allies.
There is also an element of stereotyping between the character of soldiers and officers that are portrayed in this film and the soldiers at that particular time. Notably, the act of heroism such as the Hiroshima bombing had left many soldiers with a desire to do the same so that they could be termed as heroes of the United States. In this regard therefore, General Jack D. Ripper believes that by bombing the Soviet Union, he could be in a position to receive the honor of being a hero that saved the American lives by thwarting the plans of an enemy (Shapiro, 2002, p.146). In addition to this, this film also has an element of stereotyping that is based on sexuality and vitality. It is believed that beautiful women, strong men and intelligent people were capable of giving birth to strong, healthy, and intelligent children in the society. This is not the case always.
The use of stereotypes by the director and actors of this film manages to make stereotypes as the main driving force of this movie. For instance, it would have been difficult for people to understand the magnitude of the hatred that existed between the US and the Soviet Union without the use of stereotypes. On the other hand, the ability to vividly reveal how the American and the Soviet Union societies perceived each other remained as one of the most important issue in forming the plot for this movie. Importantly, this is achieved through the use of stereotypes. For instance, when the Soviet Union President is informed that Americans are on the way to bomb him, he confidently replies that if they try that, he had a device named doomsday device that would end the whole world. In his mind, the impending threat of a nuclear attack from the American was nothing as compared to what he could do in response (Shapiro, 2002).
In this regard therefore, the film Dr. Strangelove remains as one of the most excellent piece of art that retells the Cold War era in the 1960s and 1970s. Following this point, this film employs a lot of stereotype episodes that drives the film to developing its plot and making it possible for the film to achieve its purpose of portraying the incidences of the Cold War, especially in regard to what could have happened if the tension between these two most powerful nations on earth at that time had not subsided.