Skip to main content

Seinfeldian Moments in Strangelove


 
 
Dr. Strangelove plays this month on Turner Classic. If you have ever reminisced about the Seinfeld moments in your life, you might appreciate these Seinfeldian moments in the film, Dr Strangelove, or: How I Learned to stop worrying and love the bomb.
 
*1) The Big Board: General Buck Turgidson is completely paranoid about the Russians being able to see “the Big Board”. Haven’t you ever thought about how childish the rules and games are that the highest in command play as they move people and entire cultures around on their imaginary chess boards?

 


*2)Precious Bodily Fluids: I can never think of fluoride in the same way after hearing Sterling Hayden as the deranged Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper talk seriously about how fluoridation of the water was sapping his “precious bodily fluids.”

 
*3) Slim Pickens is for ever immortalized as he is riding the rocket at the end of the film. It’s been reported that Pickens was not told he was acting in a comedy, but simply read his lines straight.  His classic take-away line after reading a checklist for his survival kit was,”Shoot, a feller could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff!”


 
 *4) General Turgidson again, in one of George C Scott’s greatest roles, is talking about the possibility of nuclear war. After Peter Sellers, as President Muffley, exclaims that this is Mass Murder, Turgidson answers with, “I didn’t say we wouldn’t get our hair mussed!”

 
*5) President Muffley (Sellers) in his finest ironic mode: “ Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here. This is the War Room!”
 

The music that plays us out at the end, We’ll meet again also closed out Stephen Colbert’s final show.  Dr. Strangelove lives with us on a daily basis. When Kubrick read the script for the thriller, Red Alert, he decided the only solution was to make a comedy. It was just too absurd in parts.

Unfortunately, like Kubrick, we can only see the way the super powers play games with entire nations and instead of shrieking or shrugging our shoulders, the only thing left to do is laugh at the absurdity of it all.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A list of Land Mines Trump is headed for

Here's the "short list" of all of Trump's incoming land mines as he hurtles towards his date with Destiny at the Inauguration. List of Donald Trump Landmines 1) Conflicts of Interest- His Business Interests are global 2) Billionaire (& Military) Cabinet appointments 3) Trump's Foreign Affair Shortfalls: The Knowledge Gaps 4) Trump's Mind-set: Bigotry, Racism, Misogyny- Remember how much "the blacks" loved him? 5) Race-baiting  Divisive Language : His Pettiness & Ego 6) The Conspiracy Theories -the weird beliefs-beginning with Birtherism. 7) His Temperament & Tweets & Trade wars -just the Tweets & Marketing that could turn on him 8) Immigration! -Building the Wall 9) Obamacare Repeal- what do you do with 20 million people +? Democratic Strongholds: Hillary's Laundry List of just some of the initiatives that were promoted by her in her speeches and on her website. These should be the bedrock ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Making America Great Again....Really

The MAGA mantra is a lie…They didn’t vote to make America GREAT again but instead to blow up the system….Not all of the people who voted for the MAGA slogan still believe it will become true. There is too much solid evidence of the hollowness of the promises. Mexico is not paying for a wall, and we don’t have a better health system than the ACA that helps people with pre-existing conditions. The actual components of what it would take to make America Greater still are just not there. Making American Great again would entail working together to create a better health care system for all that would include those with pre-existing conditions. Making America Great Again would mean working on infrastructure to make America a showcase that is the envy of the world.  Making America Great would mean working to be a global leader in NATO and with our allies to not only create peaceful solutions in existing conflicts, but also to work to prevent conflicts and to bu...
Post a Comment
Read more

Barbaric Acts in the Modern Age and the Appalling Sound of Silence

Why would any group choose to behead someone? In the 21 st Century,  the words barbarians and beheadings should both be viewed as arcane language. Instead, we see South and Central American drug cartels plus groups of extremists fighting in the Middle East using beheadings as a frequent and popular method of murder. For those of us living in the relative shelter and peace of the Continental United States, it’s hard to fathom the black hole of hatred and darkness seen and used by these people. Why do they behead people? One clue concerning the Islamic extremists leads us to the time of Mohammed. Even in the prophet’s time, (570 AD to 632 AD), he was condemned for an act of violence which left seven-hundred Jewish men beheaded at the siege of Banu Qurayza. In certain parts of Italy and in the U.S., the Mafia and drug cartels of South America use beheadings to serve as warnings to those who would stand in their way. Sadly, we probably have not reached the end of this appall...
Post a Comment
Read more