Dr. Strangelove

Strangelove (the film) is mostly concerned with developing a satirical approach to depicting the major political fears present during the Cold War. Naturally, this will include atomic warfare and the movie’s plot is focused on the dangers and benefits of possessing nuclear weapons. At the time the movie was made, fear of nuclear war was at an all time high, but these days people are not so afraid of nuclear weapons. Even when Russia started targeting nuclear power plants in Ukraine or when vague threats against the US were made, people were not very concerned with the threat of nuclear annihilation. Sixty years ago, this would not be the case. The apparent change in attitude is most likely due to the bomb simply existing. Mutually assured destruction, the ultimate result of a nuclear war, acts as a deterrent to nuclear war, until a crazy person gets the nuclear codes. 

In Strangelove, Russia was attacked due to the outlandish fantasies of one General. Recently, ridiculous conspiracy theories seem to be a norm. The QAnon conspiracy theory made national headlines not simply due to the theory’s extravagant claims but also because once seemingly sensible people in politics were supporting it. QAnon supporters were also major advocates for the previous president’s effort to overturn the election results, an act that goes against our government’s core ideals.