Work Cited:

Kubrick, Stanley, dir. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the

Bomb. 1964. Columbia Pictures, 2009.

Stillman, Grant, “Two of the MaDdest Scientists.” Film History. 20 (2008): 487-500.

Web. 24 Aug. 2009.:

"Just as the X-ray revelation of underlying sketches behind an old master's painting only enhances our appreciation of the final work, the discovery of these roots in no way diminishes the overall intellectual and artistic achievements of the screen play."

Basically, we can have our own interpretations to a particular piece; no analysis is right or wrong. If we don’t interpret it ourselves it won’t mean as much. This is like the young/old lady; some of us see the old lady first while others see the younger one.

I actually saw this movie when I was younger, my dad made me watch it. I never understood what they were talking about in the movie until now. The main basis of the plot is the cold war between the USA and USSR. Kubrick, the director of the movie, throws so many things at us; it is hard to catch some of his pieces the first time watching it. Stillman’s brings up that Kubrick had all these pieces that made up his scrape book and that’s what his movie became. He threw in things that were going on in the world then, but he was very subtle about it. Kubrick at first didn’t want to use some of his ideas because they were ludicrous, but in the end he found they were most truthful.

One of my favorite things that he Kubrick does is the subtle words and phrases he pastes on the set. One was “Peace is our Profession”, it was on the air force base and it was funny because it kept popping up, especially in the shooting scenes. Another one was on Turgeson’s notebook and it said “World Targets in Megadeath”, which is funny because that’s what they were talking about doing with the bombing. I also like how he uses play on words, Peace on Earth and Purity of Essence for the code to stop the bombing was crazy.

Even the way that Kubrick does certain cinematography aspects is impressive. For instance, anytime Ripper is presented he is made into a headstrong, authority figure. The lighting and the position of the camera make this apparent. Also the way that he always plays the “t-rah” song when scenes in the plane are shown; it’s like a reminder that they are still going on to do the job they were told to do.

Some of Kubrick’s ideas are just so interesting. Sydney Pollack quotes it best in Stillman’s article, “I remember watching it the first time, seeing Slim Pickens riding the bomb, thinking, how does somebody think that up?” He just had all these great ideas and thoughts that somehow he was able to incorporate them into his entire movie. In 90 minutes he was able to put a humorous spin on the cold war that had been taking place. If we can’t laugh about it, what can we do?