This past week I looked up the schedule for the class to see what movie we would be watching, and thought that it said “All the president's Men”. I had seen this before, and was excited for class. Once I arrived I quickly found out that I must have read the schedule wrong, and that we were in fact watching Dr. Strangelove. I have seen this movie as well, and was definitely excited once I realized my mistake. My first experience with this movie was when I was a bit younger and I loved it. I’ve always been a big fan of Peter Sellers, and Kubrick is one my my favorite directors of all time. The overall feel to the film is one that have never forgotten, and is partially responsible for my fascination with Kubrick as a director.
One of the more interesting parts of the reading for this week was when the author said: “In Kubrick's world view, modern man has made scientific and technological advances inconceivable to previous generations but lacks the wisdom either to perceive how the new gadgetry might be used in constructive ways or, more fundamentally, to ask whether the "advance" might not cause more harm than good.” I’ve seen a lot of Kubrick’s films and I agree with Charles Maland’s statement. In “Dr. Strangelove” it is clear that man does not have a firm grasp of the future of the “doomsday device”. Mankind has created this weapon of power, and is unsure about the usefulness of it. We know that it can lead to death, and not much more beyond that. Throughout the entire film the characters are speeding through one giant race to stop what could be the most tragic event of all time, all because man has created something which he apparently cannot control.
One part of the reading which I really enjoyed was when Maland describes the evolution of the script. As a fan of Kurbrick, it was interesting to read about how fascinated he was with the possibilities of nuclear war, and to see how in depth his research was for the film. I didn’t know that the film was at first geared to be a serious one, but was then switched to a “black comedy” later when Kubrick realized that he was leaving out all of the truths about the subject.
Overall I loved watching the film again in this mindset. Before I had only payed attention to the style of the film, and the goofiness of the film. This time I had payed attention to the social commentary that Kubrick was making, and I feel that I now have a better grasp of the concepts. I now realize how scary it must have been to live during that period knowing that man had such a powerful weapon with such little knowledge on the subject. I do however understand why Kubrick would make a film in this era which somewhat pokes fun at the overall feeling during the period; a move which I consider to be a bold one.
