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In-Class Write

1- When watching Doctor Strangelove , people will immediately learn that during the 1960’s, Americans were very cautious about Soviets, especially the army.  This is because during the movie, the main general of the base, Jack Ripper, becomes very paranoid about chemical being in the water, making people go crazy.  He also instructs his soldiers that unless you know the soldier you see, open fire on them and “ask questions later”. This shows the extent of the paranoia in the military, even if it is overly exaggerated by this completely ridiculous character.  In Eisenhower’s presidency, he despises communism, using extreme methods to show the United States power to the Soviets. It also shows that other countries found the USA’s caution of the Soviets were unhealthy, as shown by the British soldier acting very confused by the situation and finds it absolutely absurd.   The movie also highlights the absurdity of the nuclear arms race, and how easy it is to make a mistake with nuc

Annotated Sources

History.com: Dulles announces policy of massive retaliation  - I used this source to learn about Eisenhower and his nuclear policies and practices History.com: Cuban Missile Crisis  - I used this source to get an in depth idea of the Cuban missile crisis PBS: Cuban Missile Crisis  - I learned about the events before the missile crisis, and what could have happened if nuclear war took place History.gov: Atomic Diplomacy  - I used this source to learn about the practice of atomic diplomacy, a use of nuclear weapons RadioChemistry.org: Nuclear Timeline  - I used this to learn a general idea of the events that took place around the Cuban missile crisis Politico.com: Moscow-Washington DC Hotline JKF Library- Letters  - I used this to learn about the letters written by JFK The vintage news: Herman Kahn  - I used this source to gather information on the inspiration of the character Doctor Strangelove: Herman Kahn History.uk: John von Neumann  - I used this source to learn

Menu

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MENU Drinks- Distilled Water   Vodka (Emphasizes that this is the only safe beverages to drink, as said by the general Jack Ripper)   Appetizers - Chicken croquettes (Popular dish during the 1960's, the time period in which the movie was set) Dinners- Wings (Nuclear hot sauce), (This symbolize the intense heat felt by the blast of a nuclear bomb, the hot sauce is made from on of the hottest peppers, the GHOST PEPPER, making it incredibly hot)   dessert- baked Alaska flambe (The creation of this dessert symbolizes the events of the whole movie, with the dessert starting out in a frozen state (like the cold war), then is heated up by vodka being poured on top of it and lighting it on fire, symbolizing the detonation of the nuclear bombs, the vodka is also symbolic of the Soviets, because that is what they are known for.)

Exhibit

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This is an original movie poster of the movie Dr. Strangelove It depicts the Americans and Soviets on two opposite in a cartoon-ish fashion. This is a replica of the war room used in the movie Dr. Strangelove. It is where a major portion of the movie took place. Nearly a year after the Cuban missile crisis, a hotline between the United States and the Soviets was established for direct communication between the two nations.  One is used to communicate between the two countries in the movie. This is part of JFK's letter to Khrushchev about the Cuban missile crisis, what communication is like before the hotline, and was to help in diplomacy of the crisis.  Similar to the diplomacy in the movie. This is a B-52 Bomber , what was used to drop a nuclear bomb in the movie, and was the choice plane for nuclear bombs.   This is Khrushchev's letter to the president, about the missile crisis, proving that there was two sides to the communi

Invitation

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You are ordered to attend an Explosively Entertaining Dinner Party Guests: 1- John F Kennedy - President John F. Kennedy was in office during the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis.  The crisis was about the stationing of mid-range nuclear weapons in Cuba by the Soviets.  A thirteen day period of tension occurred, with both sides of the conflict threatening nuclear war.  They came to a diplomatic conclusion, however if there was no agreement, there would have complete nuclear destruction to both parties, like in Doctor Strangelove. 2- Stanley Kubrick - He is the director of Doctor Strangelove, a military, political satire, and dark comedy movie about the dangers of nuclear weapons. 3- Herman Kahn - He is the inspiration for the character doctor Strangelove within the movie of the same name.  He was also the leading nuclear strategist at the time and a leading scientist in the development of the hydrogen bomb. 4- Nikita Khrushchev - He is the man who lead the

Thinking about Progress

   I define progress as the advancement, or positive change, of the status quo.  This can also mean making it to the next step in a plan, or simply getting closer to a set destination.  According to www2.gwu.edu, the progressive era was between the years of 1890 and 1920.  This is mainly started from a group of early progressives actively "rejected Social Darwinism"(gwu.edu).  They were also driven by the idea that societal issues could only be solved by "providing  good education, a safe environment, and an efficient workplace" (gwu.edu).  The progressive era was the response to the economic and social issues created by industrialization.  Progressive reforms focused on attacking the "evils of corporate greed"(gwu.edu) as well as corrupt political issues.  They believed that the public should be the deciders in how any problem was solved, basically advancing the idea of a true democracy.   Here is a list of the goals of the Progressives and how good or

Future Progress

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The people in the past had some high hopes for their future, our present. 50 and 100 years ago, people had many misconceptions on what the future would hold. Some of the more reasonable predictions have come true such as: digital color photography, mobile phones, rising height of Americans, pre-prepared meals, television, express trains, movable houses, and slowing population growth. The large portion of predictions have been wishes, mainly because there were many completely crazy predictions not gripped in reality.  However, there were several different predictions that only made an important modification to an existing technology that was correct. There were very few warnings, if any, about technology or the future in general. Some of the other, more unreasonable ones seemed more like wishes, rather than realistic predictions such as the belief that journeys through space in rocket ships will be an established form of transportation, with regularly scheduled tri