# Dr. Strangelove: Do you know it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 11, 2011, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056 "2011-02-11T19:51:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/101 "2011-02-14T04:42:14Z")
“Well, I’ve been to one world fair, a picnic, and a rodeo, and that’s the stupidest thing I ever heard come over a set of earphones. You sure you got today’s codes?” Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/102 "2011-02-14T08:46:58Z")
If I may speak freely, your girlfriend talks big, but frankly, we think she’s short of know-how. ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/103 "2011-02-14T09:06:54Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I thought we were talking about classics, not pop culture trends. The OP was trying to determine if Dr. Strangelove was well known today. My original point was that familiarity with Dr. Strangelove is going to be higher on the SDMB than if he polled random people on the street. Surely Dr. Strangelove was part of the pop culture of its time and has gone on to become a classic. ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/104 "2011-02-14T09:15:57Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > I believe the binder says “World Targets in Megadeaths” and is from a lecture in Kahn’s _On Thermonuclear War_ about the absolute morality of nuclear deterrence. Yes, Kahn was an influence on both **Dr. Strangelove** and **Fail-Safe** : [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman\_Kahn#Cultural\_influence](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Kahn#Cultural_influence) > [@](#): > > Kahn was reportedly one of the models for Dr. Strangelove from Stanley Kubrick’s eponymous film, released in 1964 (other prominent influences were Edward Teller, Robert McNamara, and Wernher von Braun). It was said that Kubrick immersed himself in Kahn’s book On Thermonuclear War… > > Also based upon Kahn was Walter Matthau’s maverick character Professor Groteschele in Fail-Safe, in which the U.S. President (played by Henry Fonda) tries to prevent a nuclear holocaust when a mechanical malfunction sends nuclear weapons heading toward Moscow. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/105 "2011-02-14T10:04:23Z")
I’m only 21 but this movie is my absolute #1 favorite. I likely would have never seen it, however, had I not been watching Youtube videos of reviews by Gene Siskel a few years ago. He was stumbling over himself with praise for this movie- being that he is (was?) my favorite reviewer I had to check it out and I wasn’t disappointed. ---
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/106 "2011-02-14T11:16:11Z")
I’m 24, and watched Dr. Strangelove a few months ago after knowing about it for years (thanks to many TV specials on the AFI Top 100 and the like). I thought it was pretty good. It might not make my top ten, but I’m one of that younger generation with the hippidy-hop music and the phones that send pictures. I tend to view things that have been hyped fairly harshly, though, so for it to stand on its own even after plenty of people had told me that it was brilliant is a pretty good indicator of quality. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/107 "2011-02-14T12:44:56Z")
I saw this at a theater showing about six months ago. It was meh. I mean, I laughed at some parts but the humor was mostly lost on me. I didn’t even know it was supposed to be a comedy. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/108 "2011-02-14T16:01:59Z")
> [@AnalogSignal](#): > > The OP was trying to determine if Dr. Strangelove was well known today. I think some of the differences of opinion here are because the OP was asking about two different things; whether the movie is a classic; and whether it is “well-known.” These are not synonymous. I don’t think there is any question that the movie is a classic, and as such it will be well-known to anyone who is seriously interested in movies. It is quite possible it is not that widely known among casual movie-goers, especially those under 30. But there are a lot of other classic movies that that group is going to be unfamiliar with as well. > [@](#): > > My original point was that familiarity with Dr. Strangelove is going to be higher on the SDMB than if he polled random people on the street. True. The capability of locating Canada on a map is also much higher on the SDMB than it is for random people on the street. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/109 "2011-02-14T17:39:28Z")
At one of my former jobs (911) we sometimes had tour groups of schoolkids come through. I used to amuse myself immensely by pointing at our wall o’ maps and exclaiming, “They can’t come in here! They’ll see the big board!” No one else ever got the joke. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/110 "2011-02-14T20:06:43Z")
[QUOTE=Marlitharn] At one of my former jobs (911) we sometimes had tour groups of schoolkids come through. … “They can’t come in here! They’ll see the big board!” [/QUOTE] That was the precisely the idea, Marlitharn. That was _precisely_ the idea. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/111 "2011-02-14T20:45:39Z")
I just don’t want to live in a world where we suffer from a mine shaft gap. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/112 "2011-02-14T21:28:39Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > One professor-type friend of mine called the opening title sequence, where the tanker is refilling the bomber in flight, the sexiest scene in movies ever. > > Subtle…I doubt if it even caused the censors to wake up, but the scene shows a tanker slowly engaging with the bomber’s fuel input thru a long tube, staying connected for a while as it is lightly jostled, and as it gently disconnects, there is a little spurt of…leftover fuel. > > The music? A very liquid version of _Try A Little Tenderness._ > > If you never thought of it this way, watch it again with someone you love. About as subtle as a brick; 🙂 and a comparison not lost on [our friends at MST3K](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5cEpoHLFOk) ---
**Author:** ![TravisFromOR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@TravisFromOR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TravisFromOR)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/113 "2011-02-14T22:50:50Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > One professor-type friend of mine called the opening title sequence, where the tanker is refilling the bomber in flight, the sexiest scene in movies ever. > > Subtle…I doubt if it even caused the censors to wake up, but the scene shows a tanker slowly engaging with the bomber’s fuel input thru a long tube, staying connected for a while as it is lightly jostled, and as it gently disconnects, there is a little spurt of…leftover fuel. > > The music? A very liquid version of _Try A Little Tenderness._ > > If you never thought of it this way, watch it again with someone you love. Funnily enough, those same opening scenes were used in _Santa Claus Conquers the Martians_. (Not the sexy one, but the others…) ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/114 "2011-02-15T06:37:26Z")
Is this one of the most lopsided polls ever? Half Man Half Wit, you should have made it so we could see who voted which way, so we could shun or at least laugh at those 8 teabagger types. ---
**Author:** ![TravisFromOR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@TravisFromOR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TravisFromOR)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/115 "2011-02-15T07:55:47Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Is this one of the most lopsided polls ever? > > Half Man Half Wit, you should have made it so we could see who voted which way, so we could shun or at least laugh at those 8 teabagger types. We would have had the same results with “Is sugar sweet?” ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/116 "2011-02-15T08:13:53Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Yeah, a black & white movie from 1964 is hardly “pop culture.” I think I just got another wrinkle. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/117 "2011-02-15T08:21:40Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Is this one of the most lopsided polls ever? > > Half Man Half Wit, you should have made it so we could see who voted which way, so we could shun or at least laugh at those 8 teabagger types. I already told you I saw it and didn’t like it, deal with it. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/118 "2011-02-15T12:47:55Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > I already told you I saw it and didn’t like it, deal with it. I’m taking a close look at your pocket watch. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/119 "2011-02-15T15:42:10Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > I’m taking a close look at your pocket watch. “I smell a big fat Commie rat, Mr. President!” Stranger ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056/120 "2011-02-17T03:46:32Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > Which 4, **GL**? Have you seen _Clockwork Orange_ or _Lolita_? _The Shining_? > If I were to guess, I’d say that you’re the unwitting victim of the vast Communist conspiracy that has sapped and impurified your precious bodily fluids. Fortunately, you, also, were able to interpret the signs correctly! Best wishes, hh [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-strangelove-do-you-know-it/571056.md?page=5)