Visual Analysis Of Dr. Strangelove

623 Words2 Pages

Augusto PinochetTHA 2304 Week 4

The movie Dr. Strangelove masterfully uses its visuals to direct the audience’s attention. The black and white way in which the movie was shot is not only used to draw actual imagery of the cold war and the world wars into the audience’s minds while watching, but it also allows the film to use shading to more effectively tell the audience where to look. In one scene shot through a blurry chain link fence you can see how the exaggerated contrast of black and white film is used to shows the audience where to look. The fallen solder’s dark military uniform sharply contrasts with the light shade of the pavement. Covering the lightly shaded sky you can also see a dark billboard with the bright light words “Peace is Our Profession.” The phrase itself is key the movie because it illustrates the paradoxical nature of the defense …show more content…

The character Jack D. Ripper, an obvious allusion to the famous serial killer, is faded out of the film when he enters the bathroom to ‘wash up’. As his full body leaves the shot you are only able to his upper body, and as he slowly closed the door on his character arc, both figurative and literally, the audience realizes the slow fade was foreshadowing his goodbye of his character. The introduction scene of Ms. Scott and General Turgidson also uses mirrors, but this time to slowly fade the General into the story. In this way, the mirror shots are used to introduce and say goodbye to characters in the films plot, they could also represent the need for the generals leading the military, and the American people, to reflect. The character Ms. Scott on the other hand is always present in the scene, and the mirrors allow her to be presented in a hypersexualized manner by showing all angles of her body. The theme of sexuality is represented consistently through the movie using visual

Open Document