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.
So, I think that you brought up some interesting things. I thought the reading was quite intriguing and I to liked the part that you mentioned, but I thought that Kurbrick realized that he was telling all the truths, not leaving anything out, which actually is interesting because he set out to make a satirical movie. If this is the case I can imagine him sitting there and looking at what he made and saying to himself, “holy shit, the stuff I am making fun of is actuality.” (P703 “I began to realize that all the things I was throwing out were the things that were most truthful.”) It was hard to underhand some of the language, but never the less, the transition to “black comedy,” was very interesting.
ReplyDeleteJust one quick note about the actual movie. I liked it but it kind of got annoying by the end. The humor was beginning to get on my nerves and I didn’t appreciate what it was saying by the end. But I do like the idea of all the sexual innuendoes the movie used and how the film furthered my understanding of their uses.
Again, we always go back to the ignorance that people displayed in this time era. I just wanted to mention one quick thing. I had a conversation with my grandfather whom gave me a better insight to the situation. He said since there was basically no communication through media they were left with one small amount of what was actually going on and they bought into the fallout shelter mentality because their minds went crazy trying to predict the unpredictable.
I agree with your points about the social commentary on how we looked at nuclear war. The US and other countries were making these terrifying and destructive weapons without really taking the time to grasp the consequences. The Cold War felt to me like a game of poker. Each side had something on the line but no one really wanted to show their cards they just wanted to call bluffs. No one really wanted to dive into a nuclear war but both sides felt better about having some leverage.
ReplyDeleteYour point about Kubrick poking fun at their feelings of fear makes me wonder if his humor was a day of dealing with or easing the tension. I don't necessarily think that he was trying to be insensitive but it is sadly comical that people were creating these terrible weapons without fully understanding them.
Since that I am not a film major, I haven't seen most of these movies. I have seen this movie before though and really liked it and was glad I was going to be watching it again. There were many things that I hasn't noticed the first time around but one thing that really stuck out to me was in the middle of the movie when the fighting was going on on the base. They are all firing guns at each other and in the background was a sign that said something about peace is what they aim for. I thought this was ironic since its in the middle of a fighting scene.
ReplyDeleteJerome picked out a very good quote from the reading that was one of my favorites that makes a really good point. We are constantly coming out with new technology and 'gadgets' that may seem like something awesome but know one really knows what it could actually do. At the time, everyone was hurrying trying to build up their nuclear weapons but I don't think anyone really thought about what it actually meant. If something went wrong, or they actually used one, it would harm thousands if not millions of people rather then help anyone. I'm all for the advancement of technology but only if we know what we are actually getting into. This is all clear with the 'doomsday device' and no one really knew what was going on.
I think however, that I liked the movie the first time around better. Near the end when they are trying to get the door open for the bomb and when the plane has the damage to it, it was actually nerve wrecking to watch. I didn't know if the plane would crash, the bomb door would open, or who and how many would die. The second time around takes the nervousness out of it and the elemnet of surprise. Either way, I really liked the movie and it gives good insight into what it was like during the time period.
Like the rest of you guys, I was also shocked to read that Kubrick did not set out to make a comedy. I had, however, always wondered why he had decided to make one, seemingly random, comedy movie in the midst of all of his more intense films.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that had stood out to me for a majority of the movie was the fact that Kubrick made it a point in many shots to include the sign that said "Peace is what we aim for." This sign is completely ironic as far as it's role in the film. That sign was in many very amusing locations throughout the movie, especially once it is taken into consideration what is actually going on. When Jack D. Ripper first ordered the order to bomb Russia, the bomb was at the gate of the camp as it prepared to shoot anyone approaching the camp on sight.
To elaborate on that point, Kubrick was also very ironic with it's references to peace and fighting throughout the movie. Often the prospect of peace was brought up or accentuated throughout some of the more violent conflicts.
Another example of this, other than the "We aim for peace" signs, was during the scuffle in the war room. One of the lines that was shouted was "You can't fight in here, this is the war room!" This line plays with irony in an extreme way by hitting specific keywords in an eloquent fashion.
As far as the comment regarding technology, I will argue that no technology is ever fully realized until a culture or group has the opportunity to exploit and tinker with the finished product. People will always find a new way to utilize an object, which can accentuate the existing, known use of the technology or create new ones entirely.
I absolutely love this movie. I think its one of the strongest movie we have watched in the class in relation to the the cold war feelings that where happening at this time. Kubrick made satirical film at a time that it was hard to really question or poke fun at such serious issue. I really love this film first for its humor but more for how it deals with issues that where deadly serious to the American population. HE found a way to poke fun and show what a fine line of distraction we really were on. HE showed that even though we apparently had all these safety measures there was still a change that it could happen and there was really know way to stop it. His humor also shows how the american people at this time where scared that our president was to week to stand up and take action; as seen in the films president. After Eisenhower who was a seasoned war vet left office there was a serious worry that the young inexperienced JFK was not going to be strong enough to stand up to the Russians.
ReplyDeleteIT makes since to me that he would start out with a serious movie just because these where not topic to be taken lightly at the time. HE must have realized that the issues in the media and every day life had been taken to a ridicules level and where almost comedic in the way they where portrayed and thought of. For example when they are talking about the dooms day gap. was a ridicules thought but something that some people really feared the gap and is what really pushed the arms rase between the U.S and Russia.
There's a theme emerging in this discussion that I think is interesting, which is technology and its And it's not just the technology of nuclear war, but at every level: the phonebooth Mandrake tries to call the president from, the controls in the bomber plane. I hadn't really thought of that until reading these comments.
ReplyDeleteDo keep in mind though, the difference between comedy and satire. Kubrick most certainly did not set out to make a comedy, as in a funny movie. He did, however, choose to address the very real horrors of the early 60s arms race in a satirical way, poking fun at it precisely as a way to call attention to the seriousness of it.