#10. Dr. Strangelove's Prophecy of Technocracy

Just over one year after the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, Stanley Kubrick’s black comedy about nuclear brinksmanship gone wrong was slated to premiere for a New York audience on November 22, 1963. The assassination of President Kennedy meant a delay of several weeks before the film opened in late January.

The critics loved the dark sendup of the American military and its euphemistic jargon for nuclear war planning (with its matter-of-fact projections of “megadeaths”) but some viewers were shocked by its irreverence and bubbling sexual innuendo throughout.

Pete and I picked this classic movie—considered one of the greatest comedies of all time—partly as a way of introducing a key theme in our Lost Prophets conversation: the Cold War.

In addition to talking about the film’s plot, actors, and sets, we also touch on the real-world figures and institutions behind the scenes, including the new generation of “defense intellectuals” and habitues of the Rand Corporation (referred to in the movie as the Bland Corporation). Mutually assured destruction, strategic deterrence, overkill, missile gaps!

Additionally, we discuss on what the film can teach us about a common Lost Prophet theme: the dangers of techno-utopianism — and, near the end, we take a quick look at the recent film which offers an historical background to Strangelove, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.

Timecodes:

* [00:00:09] Introduction to our discussion of Dr. Strangelove, which one reviewer called "the most courageous movie ever made" and "a nightmare farce."

* [02:30] The hosts share their first experiences watching the film.

* [05:00] Discussion of the film's opening sequence featuring B-52 bombers refueling mid-air while playing "Try a Little Tenderness," setting up the movie's irreverent tone and innuendo.

* [08:00] Analysis of General Jack D. Ripper's character and his conspiracy theory about fluoridation, which drives the plot by leading him to order a nuclear strike on the USSR.

* [14:00] Description of the iconic War Room set design, which was so convincing that Ronald Reagan supposedly asked to see it when he became president, only to learn it didn't exist.

* [27:30] Examination of Dr. Strangelove's character, played by Peter Sellers, and the various theories about which real-life figure he was based on, from Werner von Braun to Henry Kissinger.

* [31:00] Discussion of the film's initial reception.

* [41:00] Analysis of the film's critique of technological bureaucracy, showing how technical jargon and processes obscure the human reality of nuclear warfare.

* [50:30] Comparison between Dr. Strangelove and Oppenheimer, discussing how comedy versus drama affects their impact in addressing nuclear weapons.

* [58:30] Final thoughts on the film's underlying themes about masculinity and power, highlighting the male psychosis driving nuclear policy.

Recommended:

* Eric Schlosser, “Almost Everything In Dr. Strangelove Was True” (New Yorker)

* “Dr. Strangelove at 60” (BBC)

* “Dr. Strangelove: Behind the Scenes” (14:54)--YouTube

* “Dr. Strangelove: What Makes This Movie Great?” (10:29)--YouTube

* Robert Brustein, “Out of This World” (New York Review of Books, Feb. 6, 1964)

Many thanks to the great Noble Dust for providing our music (their latest single, a cover of Sleeping Lessons by The Shins is here), and to the great Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios for editing support.

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