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| A scene from 1964’s Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb |
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED.
Please check our website, redcross.org/colorado to find out when it will return.
More than a half-century after its original theatrical release, the absurdity and razor-sharp satire of Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb still provokes, entertains and frightens. The film, which will be screened at the Red Cross at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 9 as part of the International Humanitarian Law Film Series, finds new relevance following the recent deal to curtail Iran’s development of a nuclear weapon, and in renewed debates regarding the humanitarian implications of nuclear weapons.
With Dr. Strangelove, Kubrick turns his cinematic lens toward the Cold War era’s nuclear paranoia following the Bay of Pigs invasion and escalating tensions between the United States and Soviet Russia. The film begs the same questions today that it did five decades ago: What does it mean to have endless destructive power at one’s disposal? What does war mean in a post-nuclear world? Is there actually anyone in charge of keeping us safe from nuclear annihilation?
The film garnered (and lost) four Academy Award nominations for 1964, and laid the groundwork for Kubrick’s critically acclaimed, provocative filmmaking career. In confronting
filmgoing audiences of the early ’60s with an image of nuclear warfare that was farcical, fearful, and laden with sexual innuendo, Kubrick brought both levity and cynicism to the discussion surrounding nuclear proliferation. As we navigate a world in which nuclear weapons continue to figure in global diplomatic agreements, both the comic and sardonic elements of the film still apply.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a global organization focused on reducing suffering caused by armed conflict, with a particular focus on protecting non-combatants. This is achieved in part through implementation of International Humanitarian Law. Nuclear weapons raise a number of concerns under International Humanitarian Law. These concerns are primarily related to the impact these weapons can have on civilians and civilian areas, and to their effects on the environment.
The IHL Film Series will use Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove as a springboard to launch a roundtable discussion of nuclear proliferation and International Humanitarian Law immediately following the screening of the film. Snacks will be provided. To RSVP for the film presentation, click here. For more information on the film or the International Humanitarian Law film series, contact Tim Bothe.