Dr. Strangelove

Each time I watch this movie, I am astounded by the way that so much can be said without saying anything at all. Corny, yes, but true. What I always find the most entertaining about this movie is the way that the government (namely the military) is portrayed. In fact, the only man portrayed as intelligent in the entire film is British.

Throughout the film, we see the government engaged in conversation fit for grade schoolers. For example, when the president calls "Dimitri" about disengaging whatever it is that they have, he talks to him as though he is a child. He is very calm and rational with him while also looking like a fool in the process. It also makes it seem as though the two are old friends despite the fact that they are currently engaged in war with one another. Also, the military leaders are portrayed as complete morons. The general would not even come out of the bathroom to answer the call about the current war. Furthermore, he is so concerned with the awesomeness of a "Doomsday Machine" that he completely disregards what is happening to his men and country at that very moment.

The film also makes it seem as though the military is completely unworried about the circumstances surrounding them. They are not really concerned with the fact that they are currently engaging in war but are more concerned with petty things. For example, the General receives a call in the middle of the important meeting at the Pentagon from his girlfriend. Instead of disregarding the phone call and focusing on a possible world-ending situation, he talks to his girlfriend in front of all of the leaders of the country and has a long conversation with her. He also talks in a manner that makes him seem juvenille and immature. And this is the man in charge of a war!!! In another example, we see Mandrake and Jack sitting in a room in the middle of war. Jack is a very powerful man in the military and Mandrake is much less significant. However, Mandrake is trying to talk some sense into Jack about what the next option should be when Jack simply tells him there's nothing anyone can do about the war so you may as well sit around and deal with it. Also, when Mandrake is desperately trying to get to a phone to inform the president that he has cracked the code, the Colonel refuses to shoot the Coke machine because that would be "damaging public property." He is more concerned with public property than he is about the welfare of the world.

The film also portrays the leaders as complete idiots. These are supposed to be the people to decide the fate of the country and/or the world and they are completely unknowledgable about everything involved. First of all, they are not even aware of such a "Doomsday Machine." They attacked the Soviet Union without proper knowledge of their weapons. At the beginning, those involved in the action know absolutely nothing. The pilot actually insists that, since they are fighting, the Soviet Union must have destroyed several US cities or landmarks. The General also tells Mandrake that it "seems as though" they were in a shooting war. To further the portrayal of military as incompetent, the film shows those supposedly intercepting messages turning up a radio while the General is making an important war announcement. And to really sum it up, the bomb is released from the airplane with the Major riding it. He seems thrilled while those in the airplane have no idea what they've just done.

Really, this movie portrays Americans as complete fools for being so fearful and fascinated with Communists and weapons at this time. The movie almost seems to portray how foolish this all was to begin with. That is what I always conclude when watching this movie. It always seems as though Kubrick is trying to communicate that, if we should continue to fear such faceless things, it would have dire consequences. What is so ironic in the film is the fact that the only two men portrayed as even slightly intelligent are not American. Mandrake is the man who cracked the code. Had he been able to make contact with the president, there may have been a different outcome. The other "intelligent" man in the movie is German. Not only is he German, but also a former Hitler supporter. He is also extremely disabled. It is this man that the fate of the America rests on.

Each time I watch this movie, I find something else to marvel at. It truly portrays the fear and near stupidity that people at this time were subjected to. It's a movie that will never get old because it will always be relatable to America at any time.