Dr. StrangeMovie......

Where to being for Dr. Strangelove? Humor is built into this movie but not as you would expect. Some of the more noticeable was the inherent irony and sexual jokes. Some of the ones that may have gone unnoticed were hidden American symbols and race profiling. Also I can point out two different instances that logos and ethos were used. This movie was a great watch and all the factors I discuss contribute to me liking the film.

The irony was a huge factor in this movie that carried it along from beginning to end. The first part I saw irony in the movie was the personal phone call made during the Pentagon meeting. It played on the seriousness of the meeting and joking against the government. Also I want to point out a correlation between General Turgidson’s girlfriend calling the Pentagon and the group commander needing 55 cents to reach the president. This plays the joke on that our own government can barely reach each other in times of need but a girlfriend can call anytime. Another ironic joke that occurred in the Pentagon was that of “You can’t fight in the war room!” This joke is obvious because the purpose of that very room is to determine whether to fight another nation or not, But no fighting in that room!

Sexual jokes riddled this movie, from the joke with the General’s secretary. She stated that it was 3 am and she was not tired noting she wanted to engage in sexual acts. These jokes led into gender profiling. From the comment at the end of the movie with 10 women to only 1 man, that is showing how easily men are corrupted by sex and willing to live underground for one hundred years to get sex. Along with the secretary it played fun off the woman’s working ethic; tanning at 3 am, gossiping, and playing dumb with men.

Some American symbols that you may have missed were the almost constant American music playing in the background. Especially in the B502 bomber, this gave you the feeling that what they were doing was right. Also when the pilot wears the cowboy hat, being is a symbol of America and the “lone ranger.” In a sense that is what the plane would become. The last of its fleet and the only one to complete it mission. Accents played a huge role either leading you to believe that there were too many un-American accents in the leaders and only one Cowboy accent belonging to a soldier. I believe this was joking at our leaders saying that they are letting the Pentagon become a melting pot corrupting our government.

The ethos was apparent in this movie. The comedy was everywhere giving the film a light hearted feel while conveying a message. Logos also played a huge but shadowed role. Many facts were given to you in the entire movie that helped push you towards the message. The movie stated that a single B502 would carry 15 megatons of nukes and was significantly more firepower than any previous war.

Also I saw a fallacy in this movie. The General stated that you don’t see communist drinking water only vodka. Our earth and our body are made up of 70% of water. Ergo the communist was not of this earth and therefore be taken out. I believe this is a hasty generation or genetic fallacy.