tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149446.post5441146692157479989..comments2023-10-10T10:34:10.843-06:00Comments on The Nexus of Assholery: A Dr Strangelove For All TimesPatrick Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04592482865332628189noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149446.post-62172313316262153862009-03-29T16:06:00.000-06:002009-03-29T16:06:00.000-06:00Well, yes, you're right about those things.I thoug...Well, yes, you're right about those things.<BR/><BR/>I thought you were talking about <I>Dr Strangelove</I>. Then later I remembered he didn't actually write the film. Heh.Patrick Rosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04592482865332628189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149446.post-60111914005475255892009-03-29T13:39:00.000-06:002009-03-29T13:39:00.000-06:00Think about the truly appalling characters in Loli...Think about the truly appalling characters in Lolita. The most sympathetic one of the lot was the child molester, Humbert Humbert. And that was as human as it got. <BR/><BR/>Clockwork Orange?<BR/><BR/>The Shining? <BR/><BR/>Full Metal Jacket? No characters - just a series of symbols and situations. <BR/><BR/>Don't get me wrong, I love his stuff. But there's a reason he was a recluse for so many years. He doesn't like, or get, people.Balbulicanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03909755014063452689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149446.post-44264305530556398292009-03-29T10:27:00.000-06:002009-03-29T10:27:00.000-06:00I don't fully agree. I think Captain Mandrake was ...I don't fully agree. I think Captain Mandrake was not merely a very human character, but the wisest character in the entire film.<BR/><BR/>Other than that, the characters were clearly inhuman by design. When one considers the decisions that had to made when planning a nuclear war, how could they not be?<BR/><BR/>Deciding how many millions of dead were acceptable isn't really a very humane thought.Patrick Rosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04592482865332628189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149446.post-39377632006916669532009-03-29T09:21:00.000-06:002009-03-29T09:21:00.000-06:00Strangelove was brilliant, no question. But it als...Strangelove was brilliant, no question. But it also has to be viewed through the lens of Kubrick's misanthropy. <BR/><BR/>I am huge fan of his films, right back to killer's kiss. But once he abandoned big, studio-backed projects like Paths of Glory and Spartacus, and started speaking with his own voice, it became clear that he really didn't like people very much. There isn't a single character in Strangelove with a flicker of humanity, and that fits the tone of Terry Southern's script just fine. But the same thing is true of everything he did afterward. Oddly, the only time you really feel kinship with any character in any Kubrick film is with Jack Torrance, as he goes over the edge.Balbulicanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03909755014063452689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149446.post-40796710296058854612009-03-28T18:52:00.000-06:002009-03-28T18:52:00.000-06:00Watchmen really reminded me of Dr Strangelove.But ...<I>Watchmen</I> really reminded me of <I>Dr Strangelove</I>.<BR/><BR/>But my personal favourite political movies is, without a doubt, <I>V For Vendetta</I>.<BR/><BR/>It's amazing how many things about that film see more relevant now than they were when the graphic novel was written.Patrick Rosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04592482865332628189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149446.post-52489852901495841642009-03-28T10:49:00.000-06:002009-03-28T10:49:00.000-06:00Patrick good recap - "Doc Strangelove' has been on...Patrick good recap - <BR/>"Doc Strangelove' has been one of my cultural (political?) touchstones since I first saw it over 35 years ago. It is one of films responsible for imbuing my (then) young mind with a healthy skepticism of the role of doctrines. Ironically, I find some parallels between the "Strangelove" absurd-ims and some of the positions routinely being advanced by some of today's Global-Warming deniers!Scott MacNeilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02068618008170891557noreply@blogger.com