that can be pulled from Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Stopped Worrying and Loved the Bomb. The recurring theme is obviously the tension between the United States and U.S.S.R in the height of the Cold War. Kubrick does a great job of showing this tension but with an added twist of humor and dark comedy. He plays on dramatic affect for the audience with camera angles and lighting. He uses similar names and quotes from pop culture to relate such as from James Bond: Dr. No. What he also does is leave the point of the movie to the individual to interpret.One could say that this is to show how men, at that time, were running politics (Notice there was only one women in the entire movie and she wore a bathing suit). You could assume that he wanted the viewers to take the bomb more seriously or just as well, be more light-hearted about it. The point is that there is no set theme. Kubrick said “If I told you the meaning of my films, it wouldn’t be ambiguous, and if you didn’t discover it for yourself, it wouldn’t mean anything anyways.”
In the movie he uses Dark humor and comedy mixed with dramatic camera angles and lighting. Take a look at the scene were it shows Base Commander Ripper explaining to Mandrake that the bomb is on the way. It’s dark in the background giving all detail on him. He is smoking a cigar; maybe this is to show power? You can also notice that the camera is angled so you are looking up at him. This gives the viewer the since of power coming from Ripper at he time.
There are also many different outside sources used to prove another point. The only woman in the entire movie is not only in a bathing suit, but on the cover of Playboy. What does that imply of women’s role in politics at the time? Hey also plays on the name Dr., which was also being used off “Dr. No”, the new James Bond movie that had come out.
This movie has several background elements and several ideas that make you really think. Between all of the humor, dark comedy, play on words, and hidden meanings: this makes for an interesting movie.
Mark,
ReplyDeleteI like that you point out specific examples of camera usage and lighting in the movie. I recognized several interesting uses of both cinematographic in the film myself. I think that for its time, the film was good about using those things effectively. I think that it added a lot to the movie in terms of mood.
I also noticed the cinematography when Ripper was being look at as superior. The camera angle was shooting upward and gave him the sense of being powerful and important. I also agree that Kubrick was trying to make a statement about women. (Maybe saying they didnt play a big role back then.)
ReplyDeleteI too noticed the cinematography with Ripper and the anlges that Kubrick used in the movie purposely. I definitely agree with you that Kubrick was making a statement about women back during that time period. I also agree with the fact that there really was no theme in this movie. You did a good job explaining specific examples throughtout the movie, good job!
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