Dr. Strangelove

             Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) is a movie that takes place in the early 1960's during the cold war. The film falls into the "Black Comedy" genre, a classification defined by light, humorous drama, usually of serious issues. The film follows this genre by being about the 1960's Cold War, but having a comedic, twisted view of how the military works, especially in threatening situations. The plot is as follows: insane U.S. Air Force General, Jack Ripper (Sterling Hayden), obsessed by his fears of "the communist conspiracy" orders the long range bombers under his command to launch a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union. Only he has the code that will recall the attack. Once the bombers are on their way he seals off his base and refuses all communication, including telephone calls from the Air Force and United States President Merkin Muffley (Peter Sellers). The movie is a comedic look at the government's efforts to call the planes back, and explores the problem of protecting against one person going crazy and turning technology against society. It also shows the tremendous technology of war, and the moral bankruptcy of a military theory, which can accept ten to twenty million casualties as a mere cost of war.
             Dr. Strangelove contains satire and spoofs, but also has basic concepts contained in any movie. Upon first viewing, the first noticeable concept portrayed is race. The movie is about the Cold War period of the 1960's, when the United States and Soviet Union were bitter rivals and each thought the other was out to get them. Because of this hatred, nuclear weapons were produced in case of attacks, and these weapons become the basis of Dr. Strangelove. In the film, it's the Americans versus the Russians, and both races have to work together to stop a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union which could lead to counterattacks and the end of civilization.