A one of a kind

Rating: 7/10 (20 October 2011)

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb came out in 1964 during the height of the cold war. Kubrick's film has many recurring political themes such as improper leadership and nuclear war. It also has a deep theme of how pointless the tensions between the two factions were. Despite the film's subject matter the film is a comedy. Although, one could call it a dark comedy because it's almost impossible to take such serious themes and make them comedic. Kubrick was able to balance the line of seriousness and comedy to create a very intuitive film. 1964 and the sixties in general were a very tense time for the eastern and western world. Both sides were contending with a nuclear arms race, which terrified the public of both nations. This was most notably apparent in the Cuban missile crisis, which had just occurred a couple years before the film's release. This tension led to racism between the two worlds. In democratic countries this racism was connected to the "red scare". Both sides were very subjective of each other just because the country's governments were having issues with each other. The public was very frightened during this time. Kubrick took this opportunity to create a very controversial sort of film. He took a large risk when he decided to portray such a serious situation in a humorous light. The unique thing about this film is that mostly every thing is realistic and believable. The plot itself seems like something that could of actually happened during these times. A general who is so brainwashed into hating the communists so much that he becomes paranoid and finds a loophole to start a nuclear war. These circumstances seem true to life. Even the protocol the characters assume seems realistic. From meting at the war room, to contacting the leaders of Russia and hiring experts (Turgidson and Dr. Strangelove). However, despite having such a realistic and believable setting and plot the characters in the film create a large juxtaposition. This is where the film turns into a comedy. The characters are very tongue and cheek. General Turgidson, played by the late George C. Scott, is a perfect example of an unrealistic and "goofy" character. Turgidson constantly finds humor in dark situations, his girlfriend calls him during important meetings, and he is extremely racist. Then there is Dr. Strangelove who is supposed to be a genius scientist. He is an oddball character whose ideas and theories are only weirder than his need to call the president "mien fuehrer". All of these comedic characters add levity to the realistic situation that the film's plot has formed. One can say that Kubrick's characters are his "weapons". He uses his characters to poke fun at the cold war conflict. It's possible that the point of the film was to show how pointless the whole conflict was. The scene where General Turgidson is urging the president to create a mine so they don't have a "mine gap" is obviously alluding to the nuclear arms race and is showing the futility of such a thing. Perhaps Kubricks intentions were to ease the public's fear by showing the situation in a comedic light. It all depends on what the viewer takes away from the film. Dr. Strangelove was most certainly an intuitive film for weaving together serious issues and politics, and making it comedic, while still having a deep message to communicate.