Peace On Earth (P.O.E.)

When we were talking in class about the Cold War and the fear of communism infiltrating into the United States I automatically thought of the brilliant film; Dr. Strangelove Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. There is no greater film that shows the absurdity and fear of communism masked with bloated egos and intense macho-ism. It was directed by the legendary Stanley Kubrick in 1964 and starred Peter Sellers.

Kubrick gives a sardonic look at the world during the 60's and the Cold War. When the delusional General Ripper decides to give command to drop nuclear bombs on the Soviet Union because of his belief that the communists are after the American people's "precious bodily fluids" with fluoridated water we see the irrational fear and paranoia that many felt at the time.

Another theme of the movie and of the times is the newly discovered sexuality. The film is flooded with sexual innuendo (and some very blatant sexual references). General Ripper blames communists for his inability to perform sexually and Dr. Strangelove suggests that in order to preserve humankind after nuclear war it would be necessary to save the most physically attractive people where there would be "ten females to every male." Of course the last scene in the movie is that of Major "King" Kong riding a suggestively shaped bomb to explosion. The sexual themes in the movie are numerous, but also reflect the time as it was estimated by one Harvard phsyician, Charles Walter Clarke, that if there should be an atomic bomb attack on the American people that "moral standards would relax and promiscuity would increase," giving rise for "sexual chaos" (Tyler May 93). Kubrick was one of the first to show the sex obsessed culture at the time.

This film gives great insight to the attitudes of the Cold War and suggest that everyone see it!!

1.) Tyler May, Elaine. "Explosive Issues: Sex, Women, and the Bomb."