ABSTRACT
For 1960s audiences, Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb confronted them with the absurdities of life in the nuclear age in an unprecedented way. The Cold War had become entrenched and nuclear strategy had long played a crucial role in relations between ideological adversaries. By some accounts, one reason for dropping the atomic bombs on Japan was to intimidate the Soviet Union and confront Stalin with evidence of superior American fire power. America’s status as sole possessor of the atom bomb ended sooner than all but a few had anticipated. The Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb on August 29, 1949 and the nuclear arms race was on in earnest. The film also recreates documentary-style combat footage during the assault of US army forces on Burbleson Air Force Base and inside the B-52 bomber.
