The Movie Dr. Strangelove has many references and hidden meanings that most people don’t notice. Kubrick uses setting, props, and different kinds of lighting to send certain meanings to the viewer. He also references to other movies and characters throughout the movie. Stillman, author of Two of the MADdest scientists: where Strangelove Meets Dr. No; or, unexpected roots for Kubrick’s cold war classic, explains that Kubrick used the circular table in the war room to make it seem like a poker table. “It should be like a poker table: there’s the president, the generals and the Russian ambassador playing a game of poker for the fate of the world.”
An example of a mood/character introduction set by lighting and props would be in the rooms where Mandrake and Ripper were talking on the phone. Mandrake was in a light room with a lot of commotion, and Ripper was in a dark room alone, smoking a cigar. This gave the audience a sense that Ripper was an important or maybe wealthy man because he had his own office and was smoking. The cigar made him hard to understand because it was hanging out of his mouth the entire time. Mandrake seemed to be on the other side of things, working with the light and commotion; also receiving orders from Ripper. You can understand very well everything Mandrake was saying. I thought that this was really cool how Kubrick put so much thought into everything. Stillman explained, “The screenplay and the film certainly have much more depth and substance than the sources which inspired them”.
Kubrick also uses timing in a very effective way. I noticed that when something important was happening, he would change the scene a lot to show what people were doing at that time, or what reactions the had. When the men are in the plane, he keeps switching the scene to show their faces as they are receiving the message for the plan R. They all seemed to be doing their own thing, some are eating, some reading. Kubrick also used the “T-Rah” song every time they were in the plane. The song seems patriotic and like something needs to be done. The song “We’ll meet again” by Vera Lynn plays at the end as Kubrick shows the bombs exploding. I thought this was different. The song seemed to be happy which I see as being the opposite of bombs. This left me sort-of confused and I didn’t really understand it.
I thought that the cinematography was used quite well. When Kubrick wanted someone or something to be looked at as important, his angle would change. When something/someone was important, he shot from a lower angle so they were looking down at you. Kubrick wanted them to seem superior and important, like the president or someone high up.
A quote that really stood out to me was from Stillman’s article, quoting Kubrick. It states, “I tried to imagine the way in which things would really happen, ideas kept coming to me which I would discard because they were so ludicrous. I kept saying to myself, ‘I can’t do that– people will laugh’.” I thought that this was funny because even though he tried not to make things funny, it still came out in his movie. I thought it was hilarious when TJ Kong rode the bomb, waving his hat in the air. He seemed to not have a worry in the world that he was about to die. I also thought the names of the bombs were funny (Dear John & Hi There!). What was the most interesting part of Stillman's article for you? What hidden messages did you find?

Citations:
Kubrick, Stanley, dir. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and
Love the Bomb. 1964. Columbia Pictures, 2009.

Stillman, Grant, “Two of the MaDdest Scientists.” Film History. 20 (2008): 487-
500. Web. 24 Aug. 2009.