ABSTRACT
The promises of a wingless Eros in 1923 had fallen flat in the Stalin years, but in the Khrushchev Thaw social mores softened and gave way in the face of greater exposure to the broader world. But while MAD's logic deterred the superpowers from attacking one another, it also incentivized them to stockpile arms. The Cuban Missile Crisis put MAD to its strongest test to date. By avoiding potentially incendiary news reporting or lengthy delays, the spectre of inadvertent war was reduced. While the superpowers had avoided nuclear Armageddon and opened lines of immediate communication on this occasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis left a permanent impression on everyday citizens. The film, made prior to the Cuban Missile Crisis, deviating from the novel's Soviet implications.
