Dr. Strangelove

“One Battle After Another”: a Complete Satire of Polarization

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Split image showing two opposing characters from One Battle After Another. On the left, a woman in a military jacket (Perfidia Beverly Hills) speaks tensely into a pay phone, her face half-lit in blue neon. On the right, a stern older man (Colonel Lockjaw) stands behind a chain-link fence under harsh white light, his expression rigid. The contrasting color tones and framing emphasize their ideological opposition and mirror-like symmetry.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another turns America’s ideological fever into satire— and dares us to see the joke’s on us.

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“Dr. Strangelove” and the Absurdity of the Politically Powerful

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A Year of Masterpieces: The Filmography of Stanley Kubrick Introduction Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is a satirical masterpiece.  In this piece, we will discuss the germination of the great film and then detail how the director combines a serious camera (Part I), genuine but … Read more

A Masterpiece Career – 12 Fantastic Films of Stanley Kubrick

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As I mentioned in my State of the Blog post this month, I am planning a series of in-depth essays on the films of Stanley Kubrick.  Near the end of each month, I will publish an essay on one of Kubrick’s films, and I intend these pieces to be worthy of the films that they are analyzing, not mere “reviews”.  This will not be a trivial pursuit.  And, I acknowledge that I may not be up to the Herculean task.  Regardless, these are some of my favorite films, and I hope to enhance my enjoyment of them (and yours!) through analysis and discussion.

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