Dr. Strangelove is a film that raises several issues such as nationalism and prejudice, war and sex, gender, and women as enemy (Dr. Strangelove). These themes have been developed throughout the film through some of the main characters who include Peter Sellers who plays the following characters: Group Captain, President Merkin Muffley, and Dr. Strangelove, General Buck Turgidson, Colonel Bat Guano, and Major T.J “King” Kong among others. This review studies their characters in relation to theories of international relations (Realism, Liberalism Institutionalism, and Constructivism) and alternative theories (Marxist, Feminism, and Post-Modernism). Captain Lionel Mandrake actualizes the theory of Institutionalism Liberalism. In his argument, he believes that British soldiers and the Continental Congress could have prevented the World War II (Robert 428). As the president, Merkin Muffley believes that prejudice against Jewish communities in diaspora can be addressed through the efforts of international and non-governmental organizations. …show more content…
The theory of feminism is also evident among characters such as Major Kong and Miss Scott.
Major Kong is criticized when he compares wars as penetration of the penis and firing bullets from the gun. He uses the penis metaphor to mean cannons, missiles, and torpedoes (Dr. Strangelove). He objectifies women through stereotyping their role in the society. Post-modernism is also evident in such phrases since such sentiments are also criticized by many world cultures (Robert 429). Miss Scott is a feminist who abhors the idea of girls being taken as sex objects. She calls Mrs. General Buck Turgidson to report matters of gender stereotype claiming that each woman is surrounded by ten men who act as
oppressors. President Merkin Muffley is the main character in the film that actualizes the theory of Marxism. He criticizes communism orientations of Ripper during the McCarthy hearings. He appreciates the song “We’ll Meet Again” that plays at the end of the film (Dr. Strangelove). This is a symbol that he supports capitalism as opposed to communism. Dr. Strangelove also exhibits realism; he refutes President Merkin Muffley line of thought that the World War II was caused by the rise of technology in the world (Robert 431). He is aware of the rate of world competition in terms scrambling for new resources. In addition, he is aware of antagonist’s notions in Nazi Germany and is not ready to act blindly. His posture on the wheel chair also does nor comprise his prowess in advising the president. The use of telephone among different characters has actualized the Constructivism Theory in the film. For instance, President Merkin Muffley contacts the Premier through telephone to create peace with him as well as ask him to turn his noise down (Dr. Strangelove). The effectiveness of human communication and interaction is also evident in Dr. Strangelove when he announces the presence of doomsday machine (Robert 432). His actions were aimed to inflict fear in the mind of his enemy as an effort to prevent war. This theory is also exercised by Miss Scott when she makes phone calls to General Turgidson in a cool tone. She wanted to establish cordial relationship and enlighten the world about some of the effects of gender biasness. This review establishes the relationship of the film Dr. Strangelove and the contemporary theories on international relations. For instance, the realism theory is evident in Dr. Strangelove. The theories of feminism and post-modernism are evident in the characters of Miss Scott and Major Kong. President Merkin Muffley actualizes the Marxist Theory, while General Turgidson refers to the theory of constructivism.
Dr. Strangelove is a 1964 black comedy satire film about nuclear war between the USSR and the USA. It has received many awards including #26 on the American Film Institute’s top 100 movies list and a 99% favorable rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film begins with General Jack D. Ripper putting his base on high alert and ordering his bomber wing to preemptively drop nuclear bombs onto the Soviet Union. His second in command, Mandrake, tries to stop him after finding out the Pentagon ordered nothing and finds out that Ripper is insane in thinking the Soviets are trying to poison the American water supply. The Pentagon finds out and tries to stop it but they could not find the three digit code in time to stop the planes. General Turgidson recommends
The presence of an overwhelming and influential body of government, dictating the individuals of contextual society, may potentially lead to the thoughts and actions that oppose the ruling party. Through the exploration of Fritz Lang’s expressionist film, Metropolis (1927), and George Orwell’s politically satirical novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four (1948), the implications of an autocratic government upon the individuals of society are revealed. Lang’s expressionist film delves into the many issues faced by the Weimar Republic of Germany following the “War to end all wars” (Wells, 1914), in which the disparity between the upper and lower classes became distinctively apparent as a result of the ruling party’s capitalistic desires. Conversely, Orwell’s,
Stanley Kubrick’s sexual parody, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, illustrates an unfathomed nuclear catastrophe. Released in the midst of the Cold War, this 1964 film satirizes the heightened tensions between America and Russia. Many sexual insinuations are implemented to ridicule the serious issue of a global nuclear holocaust, in an effort to countervail the terror that plagued America at that time. Organizing principles, such as Kubrick’s blunt political attitudes about the absurdity of war and the satirical genre, are echoed by the film style of his anti-war black comedy, Dr. Strangelove.
There are many different themes in, “Love Medicine” a book written by Louise Erdrich. Some of which are poverty, family, racism, and religion. The one that I am going to write about, is love. Love is one of the most prominent themes in this book. It conveys a mother’s love for her children, a wife’s love for her husband, and a son’s love for the ones whom he perceives his parents to be. This is but to name a few examples of love found in the book by Ms. Erdrich. However, there is also the lack of love that this work of literature portrays. There is mistreatment and betrayal, which are examples that are opposite of love.
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.
...es the American and Soviet officials for the lack of tolerance for one another and how that led to unnecessary military tension. Additionally, he uses the story to criticize military-industry complex that led to the Nuclear Arms Race. However, this tale is not only applicable to the Cold War. The wall between the Yooks and Zooks parallels the racial divide that dominated the US. While a seemingly depressing book for children, Geisel ends the book on a hopeful note. As the Yooks and the Zooks are on the verge of destroying each other, the book ends with a blank page to follow. This blank page represents the unwritten future—that the problems of ignorance and unnecessary militarization could be changed. As a novel to the future generations, Geisel’s cliff hanger provides children the opportunity to create their own ending, both for the butter battle in in real life.
As the Second World War drew to and end during the mid-1900s, a new conflict soon followed. This upcoming conflict put two of the world’s great powers against one another, “the democratic, capita...
Famous Hollywood Director Kathryn Bigelow was furiously working on a project called “Tora Bora,” a film about the failed attempt of capturing Bin Laden. On May 2nd, 2011, the world came to a full stop when President Obama announced that Osama Bin Laden had been killed. Immediately, Bigelow shelved “Tora Bora” even though it was only a few weeks away from being filmed. and began working on what would later become to be known as, “Zero Dark Thirty”. The film was released to major praise on December 19th, 2012, racking up 5 Oscar nominations including Best picture and winning one in Sound design. This film analysis will delve into the themes of “Zero Dark Thirty”, and will also discuss film aspects such as script, lighting, characters, and camera
Unique in style and content, the novel explores the emotions of a young Civil War recruit named Henry Fleming. What is most remarkable about this classic is that the twenty-four-year-old author had never witnessed war in his life before writing this book. Crane's story developed to some degree out of his reading of war stories by Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy and the popular memoirs of Civil War veterans, yet he also deviated from these influences in his depiction of war's horror. Critics have noted that his portrait of war is an intensely psychological one, blending elements of naturalism, impressionism, and symbolism. Indeed, he broke away from his American realist contemporaries, including his mentor William Dean Howells, in his naturalistic treatment of man as an amoral creature in a deterministic world.
Doherty, Thomas. Projections of Power-Hollywood, American Culture, and World War II. New York City: Columbia University Press, 1993. Book.
Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 film Inglourious Bastards entails a Jewish revenge fantasy that is told through a counterfactual history of events in World War II. However, this story follows a completely different plot than what we are currently familiar with. Within these circumstances, audiences now question the very ideas and arguments that are often associated with World War II. We believe that Inglourious Basterds is a Jewish revenge fantasy that forces us to rethink our previous understandings by disrupting the viewers sense of content and nature in the history of World War II. Within this thesis, this paper will cover the Jewish lens vs. American lens, counter-plots with-in the film, ignored social undercurrents, and the idea that nobody wins in war. These ideas all correlate with how we view World War II history and how Inglourious Basterds muddles our previous thoughts on how these events occurred.
It is hardly reasonable to expect a man who will forgo employment that allows such benefits like the necessity of food to attend to the needs of a war. Yet some people criticized Henry Miller because he did not take action; he hardly discussed the war in Tropic of Cancer; and, in their opinion, it is his moral obligation as a citizen-writer to address it. However, Miller is defensible only because his “mind is on the peace treaty all the time” (Miller, 143). The silence about the war in the novel suggests a stance of “extreme pacifism,” which is defensible because of his autobiographical honesty about his radical individualism and the artistic intent to describe the beauty of keeping in touch with humanity in spite of eventual annihilation (Orwell, 1 ).
“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.
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...