As unlikely as it may seem when you forget about it for long enough, with each passing year the threat of nuclear war becomes a reasonably realistic and ever more concrete possibility, making Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove more relevant than ever. Nevermind that Russia could be goaded into striking first at any point. Nevermind the constant, never-ending tensions in the Middle East that could be sent into overdrive by an interested (possibly Israeli) nutcase with access to nuclear warheads. World leaders in general are becoming increasingly brash in their displays of aggression and authoritarianism, antagonizing the subjects* under their rule and barely apologizing for their usual dalliances in mass murder.
*let’s be real, they think of the voting public as serfs, not “equal citizens”
The Russians blah bluh blurr and POTUS is a meek and mild doorstop. This is the greatest comedy of all time, making out of government’s inability to keep anything secret an absolute mince meat of mockery, and trivializing the global nuclear arms race with a glee that is neither sardonic nor childish but ultra-realistic, acknowledging the inevitability of death itself, while corrupt leaders blow comparative innocents and unknowns to smithereens and wipe over their crimes (if we are being objective) with public speeches.
The obvious upshot of this being: in nuclear conflict, even the “elites” are at risk. The film itself mentions their bunkers (ever heard of underground fallout cities?) but if things get bad enough and bunker sites are targeted by strong enough warheads, LOL@corruptvictims. In any case, nuclear winters and a nuclear holocaust are eminently plausible if the flood gates of nuclear conflict are ever opened by the power hungry maniacs who already kill by the hundreds and thousands, apparently without much bad conscience.
The character of Dr. Strangelove himself is a marvelous mechanism of satire embodying all this insanity more succinctly than your average anti-nuclear-weapons-activist can usually articulate. POTUS is portrayed as a “good guy” but his advisor is a “Kraut” who is afflicted by a strange, hilarious compulsion. A compulsion meant to signify humanity’s suicidal greed, lust for power, and will to mutually assured destruction and extinction. For those who don’t have access to nuclear weapons, this simply manifests as the mental and spiritual exhaustion of life itself. But the idea that all human life, possibly life on Earth in totality, will cease simultaneously, while obviously upsetting is also existentially cathartic. Prophecies of doom and Apocalyptic mythos are part of every culture and civilization worth anything. Afterall, the end will come to pass someday no matter what. More than just satire, Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove is a comprehensive vision of this like, and a true work of art.
Future Consciousness 