2.11.5 In Class Writing
1. In Dr.Strangelove the catalyst to the entire story is that a low level Officer fakes a "Plan R" to trick his men into thinking they are retaliating when in reality they are initiating the war. Then in attempts to stop the attacks the Russians damage communications with the planes making it impossible for the U.S. recall the mission and forcing a situation in which people must deal with knowing their death is just minutes away. The movie itself is a satire and therefore is fiction in its happenings but not in its antecedent circumstance.
In America there was a worry that with the Nuclear Triad putting(Smithsonian Institute) so many lower ranking people in a position in which at a critical moment they could decide whether to launch or hold nuclear missiles, that one such person might take authority into their own hands and begin a war. The movie acknowledges this link to reality by not just having all the characters accept that it's what happened but by having them talk about how they did, or rather didn't prepare for this situation.
2. While most of the circumstances surrounding the Cold War were shown or hinted at in the movie, there were many that were not explicitly noted or mentioned at all. The first and most important piece of information is the state of relations between the USSR and the U.S. after the Potsdam during which the U.S. attempted to take sole control of reconstruction and rehabilitation of Japan and help institute free elections in Eastern-European states. (History For the Ap Course)They did this by offering to protect said countries under their "Nuclear Umbrella". Russia of course negotiated some of this away and managed to keep control of Eastern-European states and have a non-nuclear zone around the USSR such that any attack from the U.S. could be averted.
The Second thing that was not mentioned but gives a better understanding than the movie did, is the existence of the Nuclear Triad(Smithsonian Institute). The combination of long range manned aircraft, land based ICBM's, and nuclear submarines with nuclear armed missiles paints a much stronger image of the U.S.. While the movie is about an aggressive move by the U.S. to start the war, the way the movie portrays the Commander of the Air-force as equally aggressive, which is unlikely as, while nobody knows the opinions expressed in the war room, the general consensus and plan of action was to move for peace.
3. The movie portrays Americas actions rather accurately and thoroughly in the not-all-that outlandish scenario that is created. And as such if the director could add 20 minutes I would like to see the perspective of the Russian Command. The premiere was portrayed very poorly as someone who did not completely fulfill his job or care at all, and so I wish that were rectified such that the Russian chain of command could be satired in the same manner as the U.S. as there is no perfect system for dealing with the command of nuclear options and the "Doomsday Device"(NPR) was both fiction and had it been real its use was to hopefully be averted.
In America there was a worry that with the Nuclear Triad putting(Smithsonian Institute) so many lower ranking people in a position in which at a critical moment they could decide whether to launch or hold nuclear missiles, that one such person might take authority into their own hands and begin a war. The movie acknowledges this link to reality by not just having all the characters accept that it's what happened but by having them talk about how they did, or rather didn't prepare for this situation.
2. While most of the circumstances surrounding the Cold War were shown or hinted at in the movie, there were many that were not explicitly noted or mentioned at all. The first and most important piece of information is the state of relations between the USSR and the U.S. after the Potsdam during which the U.S. attempted to take sole control of reconstruction and rehabilitation of Japan and help institute free elections in Eastern-European states. (History For the Ap Course)They did this by offering to protect said countries under their "Nuclear Umbrella". Russia of course negotiated some of this away and managed to keep control of Eastern-European states and have a non-nuclear zone around the USSR such that any attack from the U.S. could be averted.
The Second thing that was not mentioned but gives a better understanding than the movie did, is the existence of the Nuclear Triad(Smithsonian Institute). The combination of long range manned aircraft, land based ICBM's, and nuclear submarines with nuclear armed missiles paints a much stronger image of the U.S.. While the movie is about an aggressive move by the U.S. to start the war, the way the movie portrays the Commander of the Air-force as equally aggressive, which is unlikely as, while nobody knows the opinions expressed in the war room, the general consensus and plan of action was to move for peace.
3. The movie portrays Americas actions rather accurately and thoroughly in the not-all-that outlandish scenario that is created. And as such if the director could add 20 minutes I would like to see the perspective of the Russian Command. The premiere was portrayed very poorly as someone who did not completely fulfill his job or care at all, and so I wish that were rectified such that the Russian chain of command could be satired in the same manner as the U.S. as there is no perfect system for dealing with the command of nuclear options and the "Doomsday Device"(NPR) was both fiction and had it been real its use was to hopefully be averted.
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