Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
Rating: 10+

I've seen this movie many times before, as it is one of my favorites and I consider it to be a masterpiece, so I'm not going to review it. The following was a discussion board response I made for a 1960s pop culture class a few years ago:

Nuclear Insemination:

Besides the obvious phallic symbols and more overt references to sex, the part I found to be the most interesting is the metaphor of the attacking planes and fertilization. Hundreds of planes are sent to attack the general target of the U.S.S.R., but by an unlikely chance, only one makes it through, which happens to be just enough to end the world. This is a direct metaphor for sperm fertilizing an egg. The chances of fertilization are very slim, but the success of one sperm is all that is necessary for life to begin. The accidental nuclear attack on the Soviet Union is another way Kubrick kind of plays with the idea of an accidental pregnancy. By ironically comparing war and death with sex and birth, we are reminded that life is a cycle. Although the bomb is detonated, life will continue underground as discussed by the few privileged. With the deaths of millions, the few remaining humans will be encouraged to be even more prolific. In a way a new way of life is born from the act of "insemination"