15.14: Extra Credit Assignment: Dr. Strangelove

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One of the most famous American films that deals with the Cold War is Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove. Exploring the dangers of Cold War tension, nuclear policy, and military strategy, Kubrick’s film depicts “what might happen” in a Cold War worst case scenario.

Watch Dr. Strangelove* and complete the attached film guide. Submit it for up to 10 extra credit points me through Blackboard. The answers to the analytical questions need to be about a paragraph in length. The other questions can be just a sentence or two.

The film is rather dense in terms of concepts, while at the same time it’s a dark comedy. In the past students have said they had to watch it twice; once to simply get the idea of plot, characters, etc., then a second time to actually start looking for answers to the questions.

*You will need Microsoft Silverlight installed to be able to watch the film. If your computer doesn’t have it you will be prompted to download it when you try to watch the film.

NOTE: The analytical questions will require knowledge and comprehension of historical themes and information that lies outside the film. In other words: you will need to use what we’ve covered in class about the Cold War in order to correctly answer some of them.

Authored by: Chris Thomas. Provided by: Reynolds Community College. License: CC BY: Attribution