Cold War Dynamics
Movie Review Assignment
Fall 1998
Assignment:
The films "Atomic Cafe," "The Manchurian Candidate," "Dr. Strangelove" oblige us to look beneath the traditional cold war themes of bipolar animosity, nuclear weapons and ideology to explore the private motives that drive public actions. In different ways, each movie suggests that beneath America's optimistic, productive and energetic surface, there lies arrogance, a sense of loss of innocence, insanity, sexual deviance, deceit, unexamined prejudice. What do these 'subterranean' themes say about the cold war era? Do you find their critiques of cold war America credible, or not? Why? How can you reconcile these films with what you know of the politics of the era? What have these films 'taught' you about the cold war (that you didn't know before)? What do you learn about international relations from these films?
You should answer some (or all) of these questions. In your answer, you need not address each of these critical aspects, and/or you may want to add others.
Your essay should not be longer than five pages-typed, double-spaced and paginated; it is due on the last day of class. You are welcome to use additional source material, although this is not required. Please follow Turabian or MLA rules for footnotes and bibliographic citations.
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