60 Years and Still Rockin'--The Fender Stratocaster

As a history teacher, I am often asked to rank and evaluate things (like "who is the best/worst President of all time?") and as a musician, the temptation to rank artists is omnipresent as well. Sometimes I combine these two identities, such as when I declare that the electric guitar was the most important invention of the 20th century.  Now obviously I am not completely serious with this; after all, the 20th century saw the invention of (to name just a few) the airplane, the internet, antibiotics and sliced bread. But as a cultural innovation, the electric guitar has had wide-ranging artistic, social and even political implications. 

You can read elsewhere about the rise of the guitar in 20th century popular music, the invention of the electric guitar, and the invention of the solid-body electric guitar, all of which happened prior to 1950. But today I want to focus on what is probably the most popular and famous electric guitar, the Fender Stratocaster, which saw its debut 60 years ago, in 1954. 

Musical instrument design genius Leo Fender designed the Stratocaster (or "Strat", as aficionados call it)  to supersede his first solid-body instrument the Telecaster. While the Strat has carved out its place in history, fortunately for everyone, the Tele is still going strong, and has been in continuous production since 1948.  The Tele is a wonderful instrument, but it had some significant issues, especially relating to poor intonation, which led Leo Fender to invent a brand new vibrato (inaccurately called a "tremolo") bridge which provided much finer adjustability.  The Strat also features three pickups, and a lusciously curved, offset body that is a pleasure to hold.  As legendary guitarist Eric Johnson has said, "once you start playing one, it's hard to play anything else".

The Strat has undergone several changes through the years (fingerboard wood, wiring, number of neck bolts, headstock size) but essentially it is the same guitar now as it was 60 years ago.  What other 1950s tech products can say the same?  Cars, appliances, furniture, and fashion have all changed dramatically in that time, but the Strat just keeps on singing.  It has also remained remarkably affordable.  In 1954 a Stratocaster cost $249.50, which is the equivalent of about $2100 today, according to the Inflation Calculator. Nowadays, an American-made Strat is around $1200, while a Fender Strat made in their Mexican factory costs about $500. Other companies make homages to the Strat that are even less expensive.  In short, it costs less to rock a Strat now than it did 60 years ago.

Interestingly, the day after I wrote this, Fender put up this interactive webpage about the Stratocaster, and about some 60th anniversary models they will be selling this year.  It's worth a look!

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The Strat has been a popular choice of musicians in just about every genre of music.  As Guitar Player magazine editor Tom Wheeler noted in 1987, "What more needs to be said about an instrument's versatility than that it was adopted by the guitar player with Lawrence Welk as well as the guitarist in Pink Floyd?"  Good point, Tom!  The following are just a few noteworthy Strat masters:

Buddy Holly: Buddy Holly was a singer and songwriter from Lubbock, Texas who gained popularity in the late 1950's with songs like "Peggy Sue" and "That'll Be The Day". Buddy's unique look (the geeky horn-rimmed spectacles combined with the space-age electric guitar) was captivating, and the 100 songs he recorded with his combo the Crickets combined country, pop and in some cases, the Bo Diddley beat. Sadly, Buddy Holly perished in a plane crash following a gig in 1959, along with young guitar slinger Ritchie Valens and DJ J.P. Richardson, a/k/a "The Big Bopper".  Holly, who was only 22 at the time of his death, has had a lasting influence, especially on four young Liverpudlian rockers, who also chose an entomological name for their band, The Beatles.

Buddy Guy: Legendary Chicago bluesman Buddy Guy has played a bunch of different axes in his long career, but he is probably best-known for playing a Strat (often a polka-dot one).  Songs like "The First Time I Met The Blues" and "Damn Right I've Got The Blues" are rightfully classics of the genre.  He is also a prolific coverer of songs by other bluesmen, such as "Five Long Years".  I first got into the blues in the mid-1980's after seeing a PBS special about Buddy, and I have seen him live several times.  Buddy was a huge influence on other guitarists, and his wild live performances are renowned. He is a remarkably modest and kind man as well as a brilliant musician.  Check him out if he comes to your town!

Jimi Hendrix: Psychedelic blues shaman James

Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was heavily influenced by Buddy Guy. Though he was left-handed, Hendrix often played right-handed guitars upside down, notably Fender Strats. After years of playing as a sideman with groups like the Isley Brothers and Little Richard, he was "discovered" by Animals bassist Chas Chandler (whose fear of flying motivated him to switch from performing to managing).  Hendrix went to England and took London by storm in 1966.  His wild Buddy Guy-isms (playing the guitar behind his back or with his teeth) and inventive use of distortion, feedback and the tremolo bar quickly brought him the reputation as rock's greatest guitarist.  Sadly, Jimi died in 1970 at the age of 27 as a casualty of drugs; on the night of his death, British guitarist Eric Clapton was planning to give him the gift of a left-handed Stratocaster.  Jimi died too soon, but his live performances of blues like "Red House", rock numbers like "Wild Thing" and his mindblowing rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner" as the sun rose on the multitudes at Woodstock will never cease to amaze.

Eric Clapton: One of my all-time favorite musicians, Eric Clapton was one of the original guitar heroes.  During his time as lead guitarist with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, London walls were covered with the graffito "Clapton is God". Eric was only 20 years old at the time!  He went on from there to get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three different times, and to record what I think is the greatest album of all time. Clapton has recorded a wide variety of music, but the blues is his homebase, and the Stratocaster is the guitar with which he is most often associated.  He once described playing "Blackie" (his main axe through the 1970's) as "like diving into a pool of warm water".  Clapton was heavily influenced by Buddy Guy (in fact, seeing Guy live led Clapton to form legendary power trio Cream), was friends with Hendrix, and in his turn has influenced just about everyone.  Songs like "After Midnight", "Wonderful Tonight" and "Layla" are classics that show "Slowhand's" chops.

Mark Knopfler: When I was a teenager, I had pictures on my wall of several guitarists, including Clapton, Hendrix, Chuck Berry and Mark Knopfler. Knopfler, the leader of Dire Straits, is a brilliant songwriter and guitarist whose crystal clear fingerstyle Strat playing is unmistakeable. Besides being a great player, he also loves the instrument, as is made clear in this wonderful movie made by Dire Straits bassist John Illsley. Must-hear songs from Mark Knopfler include "Tunnel of Love", "Lady Writer" and "Sultans of Swing".  Mark is still recording and touring--don't miss the chance to see this legendary musician if he comes through your area. 

Stevie Ray Vaughn: Back in the 1980's, after punk, and with the rise of synthesizer based New Wave it seemed like the guitar was falling into disrepute. But a guitar-slinging young bluesman from Texas changed that.  Whether on his own records, or playing lead for David Bowie, Stevie Ray Vaughn restored guitar (and the blues) to their place of prominence in American music. Stevie was famous for playing the battered Stratocaster he called "Number One" on songs like "Pride and Joy" and "Texas Flood" while he featured a maple necked Strat (signed by Mickey Mantle!) on "Lenny", which was the name of his wife, and of the guitar she bought for him.  SRV was a longtime drug addict who got his life under control and was making his best music when he died in a helicopter crash following a concert with Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy and Robert Cray in August of 1990.  He was 35 years old. He is the only guitarist whose picture is currently on my wall. 

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In the summer of 1990, under the influence of Stevie Ray Vaughn and Eric Clapton I bought my Fender Strat.  It was an "American Standard" model, made at the new factory in Corona, California after the company's employees purchased the brand from CBS. I got it in the "Pewter" finish that Clapton was using at the time, and named it "Penelope", trusting that it would always be faithful. I have other guitars, but my Strat is first among equals.












It is also the guitar I have relied on the most in live performances.  Every time I have played with my wife in the audience (including before we were married), the Strat was there. When it is important to sound and look good, no other instrument will do a better job than my Stratocaster.

I love the way it looks, the way it feels and the way it sounds.  To me it looks like a grayscale picture with a tinted neck.  I just got the frets leveled and crowned after 23 years of use, and it plays like butter--I can't put it down.

Stratocasters have inspired people since 1954, and I look forward to playing mine for the next 60 years.

Playlists Posts #2: Songs for America's Birthday

I've written about music before in this space, and those posts have proven to be among the most popular.  As of this week, my post on guitar solos has received over 230 hits, my post on songs about the radio has over 380 hits, and my post on the album Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs has been viewed over 1250 times.  Based on this success, I am returning with a timely post for today: songs  with titles that have something to do with America's birthday.  The songs below are not necessarily "patriotic" and they do not necessarily relate to the United States, but their titles make them perfect for listening to today.  Let me know if I've missed any of your favorite tunes in the comments.  Happy listening, and Happy Birthday America!

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#1: "Fourth of July"--Dave Alvin

The first song on this list is by one of my favorite singer-songwriters, Dave Alvin.  Alvin, who is almost invariably referred to as "Dave Alvin, formerly of the Blasters", even though he hasn't been part of that group for decades, released this song on his first solo record, Romeo's Escape in 1987.  The lyrics paint the picture of a relationship falling apart, and the singer is grasping at whatever he can to salvage things:

She gives me her cheek
When I want her lips
And I don't have the strength to go.
On the lost side of town, in a dark apartment
We gave up trying so long ago. 

On the steps I smoke a cigarette alone
The Mexican kids are shooting fireworks below.
Hey baby, it's the Fourth of July
Hey baby, it's the Fourth of July. 

Whatever happened I apologize
So dry your tears and baby walk outside
It's the Fourth of July.

This video comes from a performance on Austin City Limits, and features some nice solos from Alvin and steel guitar wizard Greg Leisz:

#2: "Fourth of July"--Pete Droge

This song by alternative rocker  Pete Droge has a pretty melody but the message is pretty heavy, as the singer is talking to a friend who committed suicide on Independence Day.  He is saddened and disappointed by the friend's decision to take his own life, and the bittersweet refrain reveals some of his mixed emotions:

On the Fourth of July
You see the sparks in the sky
When your sick of the trying
And you're tired of the crying
Then the Fourth of July is a good day to die.
They'll celebrate each year 
Your independence from here. 

I can't find a video of the song, but you can listen to the song on Spotify:

#3: "Fourth of July"--Brian McKnight

Brian McKnight is a super talented, do-it-all musician who has written and recorded all types of music. This piece of lightweight pop music is very sweet, and the chorus is one that anyone who is in love can relate to:

When we kiss it's like Christmas
I still feel butterflies
Every time we're together
Like the fourth of July

Here is the official video on Vevo:

#4: "Fourth of July Rodeos"--Chris LeDoux

The late rodeo riding country singer Chris LeDoux put out this fun little honky-tonker on his 1975 record "Rodeo and Living Free". In the song LeDoux sings about riding in a rodeo on Independence Day, and wanting to be home with his wife.

It's the Fourth of July on the rodeo trail
And it'll drive you insane.
My wife's worried home by the telephone
I'm on the road again. 

It's the Fourth of July on the rodeo trail
If I ever make it home I swear
I'm gonna hang up my hat
Put up my rigging sack
And for a month I'm gonna stay right there.

Here is the link on Spotify:

#5: "One More Fourth of July"--Jackson Rohm

This sprightly number from country/pop songster Jackson Rohm (who looks remarkably like former Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Pat Burrell) is a song of regret for the "one that got away".  It's pretty catchy!

#6: "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)"--Bruce Springsteen

No playlist of songs about America would be complete without the Boss, so the next two songs give us a double shot of songs from Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.  The first tune, "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)", comes from his second album, The Wild, The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle.  It is a beautiful, though somewhat wistful song.  To me, it has always had a bit of a humorous aspect, as it seems like the more the singer tells Sandy about what a loser he is, the less likely it is that she will "unsnap her jeans" for him.  Here is a live clip from the 1970's:

#7: "Independence Day"--Bruce Springsteen

This song, off Springsteen's double album The River, is part of Springsteen's series of songs that relate to the father-son conflict he experienced growing up (think of songs like "Factory" from Darkness on the Edge of Town).  In this song, the son recognizes that he and his dad will never agree, and that it is time to move out of the house.  As someone who often had trouble getting along with his father, I find this song to be very moving, especially the following lines:

'Cause the darkness of this house has got the best of us
There's a darkness in this town that's got us too
But they can't touch me now
And you can't touch me now
They ain't gonna do to me
What I watched them do to you 

So say goodbye it's Independence Day
It's Independence Day all down the line
Just say goodbye it's Independence Day
It's Independence Day this time.

#8: "Independence Day"--Ellis Paul

This number by Boston singer-songwriter Ellis Paul is another one that combines freedom from a bad relationship with the national holiday. When he learns that his woman has been unfaithful, the hypocrisy of their life together causes a breakup:

I'll shed some light on the mystery
Of why I kicked her out on Independence Day
With the fireworks burning I found myself learning
Couldn't lay in my bed the same way

#9: "Independence Day"--Elliott Smith

Elliott Smith and I were contemporaries at Hampshire College in the late 1980's.  This song is a good example of how he could blend lovely melodies with inscrutable lyrics.  I recently spoke with author William Todd Schultz about what life was like at Hampshire in those days, to provide some background information for his upcoming new book "Torment Saint: The Life of Elliott Smith".

#10:"Independence Day"--Ani Difranco

Ani DiFranco's songs are often heartbreaking, and this one is no exception.  The haunting chords combine with the lyrics and the tortured vocal to describe the sadness of someone who knows that the one she loves doesn't feel the same.  The words are very evocative, especially the introduction:

We drove the car to the top of the parking ramp on the 4th of July
We sat out on the hood with a couple of warm beers
And watched the fireworks explode in the sky
And there was an exodus of birds from the trees
But they didn't know we were only pretending

#11:"Independence Day"--Martina McBride

This is an outstanding song which once again combines the national holiday of Independence Day with that of an abused woman who gains her independence from her husband by killing him.  The song is told through the eyes of the woman's daughter, who is looking back to when she was a child.  It is a great song to listen to, and the words really make you think.  On the one hand, the eight year-old narrator loses both of her parents (her mother is arrested) and is sent to to "the county home", but on the other hand, while she "ain't saying if it's right or it's wrong", she seems to think that her father deserved it.  The video below is fraught with extra meaning, as it was shot at Farm Aid in 2001, just a couple of weeks after 9/11.  One can discern a little bit of the pride and determination that Americans displayed back then when Martina McBride sings "let freedom ring".

#12:"Happy Birthday America"--the Soul Survivors

Well after all of these grim, gloomy songs, we might as well end on a positive, upbeat note.  This song, written for the 1976 Bicentennial celebration, is a great example of Philly soul and you can't argue with the lyrics.  Happy Birthday America, it's party time in the USA!!!

Everything I Needed To Know I Learned From Pro Wrestling (Pt. 4--The Anti-American All-American)

If you've followed this blog over the past few years, you would know that professional wrestling is a huge interest of mine.  I've already written about cage matches and about "the original Pearl Harbor job", but this post will focus more sharply on the aspect of professional wrestling characters, specifically those who are identified as "American Heroes".

While professional wrestlers are above all else, outstanding athletes, part of the appeal to "sports entertainment" is that each of the wrestlers portrays an easy to understand character.  Some are good guys, or "faces", while others are the bad guys, also known as "heels".  In rare cases, characters inhabit a middle ground, and thus are known as "tweeners" (bad guys who get cheers, or good guys who get boos).  Sometimes these personae are derived from the actions of the wrestler, such as when Stone Cold Steve Austin represented the blue collar worker against the treacherous, exploitative management of WWE owner Vince McMahon.  But often times, a wrestler's character comes from more primitive-level appeals, such as nationalism. I've previously linked to some articles about national and ethnic stereotypes in wrestling, and how they can serve as a short-hand way to explain a wrestler's motivations and actions.  

Over the years, a reliable way to get a wrestler "over" (popular with the fans) has been to make him appear to be very patriotic.  Perhaps the best example is that of legendary wrestler Hulk Hogan, whose theme song proclaimed that he was "a real American/fighting for the right of every man".

At one point, due to storyline exigencies I won't go into here, Hogan was forced to wrestle in a mask, coming out as "The American Patriot", a star-spangled heavyweight whose moves, voice and theme song were remarkably identical to the then-banned Hulkster.  Naturally the fans were aware of what was going on and cheered lustily whenever the masked hero managed to prevail over the dastardly Vince McMahon and his minions.

Other examples of characters who have gained popularity through their appeal to pro-Americanism include Sgt. Slaughter, a real-life former Marine, Kurt Angle, the only American Olympic gold medalist to wrestle professionally, and "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, who appealed to a very base level of patriotism, usually by putting down other countries and getting fans to chant "U-S-A, U-S-A" in response to his every action.   Duggan gained his appeal early on when, in the midst of Reagan-era Cold War tensions he prevented "Russian" Nikolai Volkoff and the Iranian Iron Sheik from singing the Soviet national anthem prior to a match.  

This video gives a good example of Duggan's shtick, including a "flag match" versus "Russian" Boris Zhukov, in which the winner's national banner will fly proudly in the arena. In the interview prior to the match, Duggan runs down Quebecois heel Dino Bravo as well as the Soviet strongman Zhukov. 

Besides Duggan's antics, listen to the classic commentary between face play-by-play man Vince McMahon (who at the time was not known to be the owner of the company) and heel color commentator Jesse "The Body" Ventura.  Ventura, a real-life former Navy SEAL and future governor of Minnesota is a classic heel, putting down both Duggan and his fans.  For what it's worth, the announcing is a great example of why Jesse "The Body" was my favorite when I was a kid.  Even though his grammar is poor, and he supports the bad guys, he comes off as rational and intelligent, even when making excuses for Zhukov's loss. 

Sometimes, in an effort to freshen up someone's character, good guys do a "heel turn" and become bad guys.  When this happens to someone known for patriotism, it can be confusing. In 1991, Sgt. Slaughter became a pro-Iraqi heel. This turn is still talked about today, and especially to younger viewers, it must have been shocking to see an American hero go against his country like that. 

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All of this is mere prologue to discuss a fascinating variation on this classic theme currently being aired on WWE programming.  For the past five or six years, a wrestler known as Jack Swagger  (real name Jake Hager) has hovered around the top echelons of the WWE.  Whether a face or a heel, Swagger has proclaimed himself to be "the All-American American", alluding to twice winning academic all-American awards at the University of Oklahoma.  Swagger has great size and can be intimidating in the ring, though a speech impediment makes him less threatening on the microphone.  He has briefly been the World Heavyweight Champion, and until 2012 was usually seen as a serious main-event wrestler.   For some reason (storyline or falling into disfavor with management due to multiple failed tests for marijuana) Swagger went on a months-long losing streak in 2012, culminating in him "walking out" on WWE for several months. 

Swagger returned out of the blue in February 2013, winning the Elimination Chamber match to become the #1 contender for the Heavyweight title, which at the time was held by Alberto Del Rio.  Del  Rio had been a heel (the "Mexican Aristocrat") who came to the ring in a different luxury car every day but had made a face turn, and was now seen as a plucky Everyman who was living the American dream through his success in the WWE.

Swagger didn't return alone.  He brought with him a manager/mouthpiece named "Zeb Colter".  Colter is portrayed by former wrestler "Dirty Dutch" Mantel.  Colter is billed as Swagger's "Founding Father",  the man who inspires Swagger to new heights by motivating him to "restore America for real Americans".  He even encouraged Swagger to rename his signature ankle lock hold the "Patriot Lock" (it was called the "Patriot Act" for a week or so, but that was a bit too charged, I guess). 

It turns out that Swagger and Colter hate undocumented immigrants, and much like Arizona Sherrif Joe Arpaio, assume that all Latinos are in the country illegally.  Swagger's new slogan "We The People" applies to the "us versus them" approach that has him accusing Del Rio of being an illegal immigrant, while Del Rio can present himself as a American success story; as a man who found a land of opportunity in the USA. 

Swagger and Colter may be a great pair, but Mantel and Hager do not seem to be ideal companions.  Swagger has been known to have problems with marijuana, and shortly after the two were brought together, he was arrested for driving under the influence after a show in Mississippi.  That is morally reprehensible enough, but it must have been especially hard for Dutch, considering that only a few months before, his granddaughter was killed by a person driving under the influence. Mantel is an old pro, but Swagger is an accident-prone goof who has more than once injured people in the ring, including broadcaster Jim Ross a few years ago, and current champion Dolph Ziggler a few weeks ago. 

Despite the arrest and injuring the top wrestler in the company, Swagger has continued to get a "push", perhaps because the WWE hope that the politically tinged message will garner them extra publicity.  At the beginning of their pairing, some right-wing media picked up on what seemed to be attacks on the Tea Party movement.  Radio host Glenn Beck got in the act, which led to Swagger and Colter inviting Beck onto Monday Night Raw to debate them (naturally, Beck didn't show up).  

The thing that interests me the most about this character development is that Swagger has NEVER been cheered for his xenophobia.  In fact, in an effort to protect the character, announcers are careful to make sure to speculate that Colter has "brainwashed" Swagger, thus putting the blame on the manager, not the wrestler. The only one to stand up for the duo is heel color commentator John "Bradshaw" Layfield, a brash Texan who praises Colter for being a Vietnam Vet (and thus, an American hero).  At one point, on "Old-School" Raw, WWE legends Dusty "The American Dream" Rhodes and Sgt. Slaughter accompanied "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan as he came out to face Swagger and Colter. 

As you can tell from the video, Swagger gets a huge amount of heel "heat" for beating up three legends known for their patriotism, but he also gets berated by the announcers, saying that they want no part of Swagger's America.

I have found the audience reaction to Swagger and Colter to be very interesting. It is well-known that despite what the writers want, it is up to the "WWE Universe" to decide what will be popular (or not).  Swagger and Colter have been booed from the outset, despite the fact that they would seem to represent the views of many "real" Americans.   The "non-partisan" (not really) Federation for American Immigration Reform has collated the results of numerous surveys that seem to show that the majority of Americans believe that porous borders (mainly to the south) are a serious threat to the United States and that illegal immigrants "harm" American workers.

If the numbers are so convincing, then why do wrestling fans boo Swagger and cheer Del Rio?   I think that it has to do with fairness and familiarity.  When Americans answer pollsters' questions on immigration, they equate "following the rules" with fairness, and so naturally someone who breaks immigration laws is not deserving of approbation.  But when they see and hear the venom coming from Colter and Swagger, it turns them off.  Similarly, the idea of a generic Latino "stealing jobs and draining resources" is unpopular, but the charismatic Del Rio is a fan favorite for his fighting spirit, charm and resiliency.  And then when Swagger and Colter have also run down other fan favorites like heel Englishman Wade Barrett:



and Canadian-American face Chris Jericho:

 
the fans rebel against such unfair, discriminatory and rude behavior toward people that they think they "know".  I think that this is not unlike the way that homophobes change their minds and support same-sex marriage once they learn that someone they know and like is gay.

I wonder if the powers-that-be in the WWE expected such a negative reaction to Swagger's new persona?   And if they did, what does that say about America?  WWE fans are a cross-section of the population, with a weekly total viewership of 14,000,000.  According to the WWE's corporate website, 58% of the WWE audience has at least some college education, nearly half have household incomes over $60,000 and 36% of viewers are female.  Perhaps most telling is the number of Hispanic viewers.  According to WWE research, Monday Night Raw is the most watched weekly show among Hispanic men (also African Americans) and Friday Night Smackdown is the most watched Friday night show among Hispanic men. By the end of this decade, 12 states and the District of Columbia will have "majority-minority" populations, and California and New Mexico will have a plurality of Latinos.  The WWE is a publicly traded company and they know that to increase shareholder value they must keep viewership high.  By building up characters like Del Rio the WWE is creating strong Hispanic fan favorites who will help the company maintain their grip on minority viewership.  And there is no better way to do that than to have a big, xenophobic bully drawing heat.  I think that the WWE knew exactly what they were doing.  Because anti-immigration bigots can now feel that their views are being freely aired on WWE programming, and more progressive people can feel glad when announcers criticize Swagger and Colter and can cheer when he loses a big match.  This way, more people will tune in, and the company will continue to succeed.

I'd love to know what your thoughts are on this topic.  Please feel free to leave a comment!

Notes From The Classroom, pt. II--Civil War Casualties

As I mentioned in my last post, I spend a lot of time teaching my high school students about the American Civil War.  Or, to be more accurate, I should say "the Civil War era".  As I tell them on the first day of the school year, I'm a pacifist, and I don't like war.  As a result, I spend a lot of time talking about life during wartime, and the effects of wars on American society, but not a lot of time on the "bang bang, shoot shoot" part.  This usually disappoints a few students (mostly boys) but of course I still make time to cover certain major battles as well as key military leaders and their tactics, so even the more "bloodthirsty" kids have something to look forward to.

This past week I taught the kids about the scale of Civil War casualties, as well as the terrible conditions faced by soldiers of that era, especially those who were wounded in battle. When I teach this class, I have several goals in mind; first, to put the event into a global perspective, and second, to try to relate the information to the wars the United States have been fighting for most of their lives.

I find it helpful to put the Civil War into a global perspective for a couple of reasons.  Primarily, since I teach students from all over the world (my school draws from over 20 nations) I don't want to seem chauvinistic.  And secondly, if I am successful in driving home the point that the Civil War was the most significant event in our nation's history, it stands to reason that civil wars in other countries are equally important.  I start the class by sharing the following facts with the class:

• 3,000,000 soldiers (USA and CSA) fought in the Civil War, which was about 10% of the total population. 

• Approximately 620,000 soldiers died in the war (about 2% of the total population). An equivalent today would be  six million deaths.

I then share the casualty totals of some significant 20th Century civil wars for comparison:

• Russian Civil War (1917-21): 8.8 million
• Chinese Civil War (1927-49): approximately 6 million
• Korean War (1950-53): over 3 million

These numbers typically elicit a strong response, but someone usually raises the significant differences between 19th and 20th century technology.  So I mention that contemporary with the US Civil War was the Taiping Rebellion in China. This civil conflict lasted from 1850-1864 and claimed at least 20 million lives. 

After this perspective, I try to make a comparison to something with which they should be familiar, the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.  At this point I am teaching students who were only four or five years old in 2001, so their recollections are naturally hazy.  But they are quite aware that 9/11 changed their world. Nearly 3,000 people died that day (with many more dying since then, especially rescue workers at Ground Zero).   Our country was horrified by the carnage in 2001, but (thank God) nothing similar has happened to America since then.  But imagine living here 150 years ago.  In the space of four and a half months in 1863, the following battles took place (among others): 

Chancellorsville, Virginia: May 1-4 1863: 30,099 casualties (17,278 USA / 12,821 CSA)

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania: July 1-3 1863: 51,112 casualties (23,049 USA / 28.063 CSA)

Chickamauga, Georgia:Sept. 19-20 1863: 32,624 casualties (16,170 USA / 18,464 CSA)

and that was after two hard years of war, with another year and a half to go.  I ask the students to consider what it must have been like to live in the country back then.  I imagine that people must have been almost in a state of shock.  Everyone must have known someone connected to the war and the tension of never knowing when a loved one's name would show up in the newspaper's death rolls must have been terrible. 

And that is a useful point of contrast to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, which have gone on for most of  my students' lives. According to The New York Times, during the last decade, less than 1% of the total population has been on active military duty, compared to 9% during WWII and 10% in the Civil War. This makes it easier for people to have an "out of sight, out of mind" approach to war.  

I also spend time discussing medical science and technological advances in the last 150 years.  We talk about how wounds to the extremities were the most common injury in the Civil War, and that most resulted in amputation.  After grossing the students out with discussions of the highly septic conditions of operating rooms 150 years ago, I ask if they know what the most common injuries are for American soldiers today. According to Catherine Lutz of Brown University, [.pdf] they fall into four categories:

• Traumatic Brain Injury:  A Rand report in 2008 found 19 percent of returning service members reported having experienced a possible traumatic brain injury...Whatever the true number, TBI cases range from severe, penetrating TBI to the more common mild TBI which can display itself in psychosocial dysfunction, seizures, irritability and aggression, depression, confusion and memory loss.

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Mental injuries, including PTSD, have also been common.  The Veterans  Administration reported 192,114 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had been diagnosed with PTSD through the end of 2010, with these numbers, however, excluding anyone diagnosed and treated outside the VA system...Several features of these two wars have made emotional and cognitive impairment more common, including multiple and extended deployments with less rest between deployments (39 percent of all soldiers who have been to Iraq and Afghanistan have had two or more deployments, even after wounding, and more exposure to handling body parts and seeing friends killed, surviving with more grievous wounds, and higher rates of  TBI.  Other predictors for PTSD include “killing of innocent bystanders, or having to  witness such killings without the ability to intercede, [which] is also associated with more intense psychiatric manifestations. This is of significant concern due to the large numbers  of civilians killed during this current conflict by both coalition forces and the insurgency.”

• Amputation:  More soldiers survive their wounds now than ever before in human history. The widespread use of body armor protecting the vital organs has also  meant an unusually high number of wounded soldiers with multiple amputations (including limbs and genitals) and complex combinations of injuries, including burns,  blindness and deafness, and massive facial injuries.  According to the Army Office of the Surgeon-General, there were 1,621 amputations among US troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, and “unaffiliated conflicts” through September 1, 2010. Half of these were caused by  improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Blast injuries from IEDs often combine penetrating, blunt, and burn injuries. IED shrapnel can include nails, dirt, and clothing and create enough small wounds to exsanguinate the victim. There has also been a high incidence of blinding injuries. 

• Spinal Cord Injury: US News reports that  "explosions are the main cause of spine injuries among wounded U.S. military personnel...Researchers analyzed more than eight years of data on back, spinal column and spinal cord injuries suffered by American military personnel serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. Of nearly 11,000 evacuated casualties, about 600 (nearly 5.5 percent) had a total of more than 2,100 spinal injuries. Explosions accounted for 56 percent of spine injuries, motor vehicle collisions for 29 percent and gunshots for 15 percent, the study found. In 17 percent of spine injuries, the spinal cord also was injured. Fifty-three percent of gunshot wounds to the spine led to a spinal cord injury. 

One of my students pointed out that it is a shame that since so many injuries are "invisible" it will be hard to recognize and thank these veterans for their service to the country.  I thought that was an excellent example of being able to discuss "current events" in the context of a history class.  Thanks for reading!

Notes From The Classroom, Pt. I-Slavery Footprint

So in my day job I teach American history (and since I work at a boarding school, it is often my night job as well). One of my classes is a survey course on U.S. history.  I believe that it is impossible to understand America without understanding the Civil War, so every year in the winter I spend about seven weeks covering the Civil War (about four weeks on the lead-up to the war, and the rest on the conflict itself) followed by another two weeks on Reconstruction (you can see my full syllabus for details).  Most of my students are 10th and 11th graders and I strive to try to make the material that we cover relevant to their daily lives.  As the slogan on my history webpage says, we study history to make sense of our world today. 

This week we covered the midpoint of the war.  The students wrote an essay evaluating whether Lincoln or the slaves themselves deserve the most credit for emancipation, and we also discussed the Gettysburg Address.  It also helps that the movie Lincoln has been so well-received this winter; my school took all of our students to see the film, which led me to write a "who's who" of the characters.  Because this month is the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, numerous articles have been published discussing the significance of that landmark declaration.   One article that I found especially compelling, entitled "How Many Slaves Work For You?"  was in the New York Times on Dec. 31, 2012.  In it, Louis Masur, a history professor at Rutgers proposed that it was time for a new Emancipation Proclamation one "written for our times".  

Masur draws our attention to the problem of human trafficking, which President Obama has correctly identified as modern slavery.  Estimates are that up to 27 million people worldwide are enslaved right now; these people are exploited for their labor and their bodies.  "Trafficking" can include forced labor, bonded labor, debt bondage among migrant workers, child labor, involuntary domestic servitude and sex trafficking.  I don't usually share my personal viewpoints with my students, but I have traditionally revealed that I consider the kidnapping and sale of 13.5 million Africans from roughly 1450-1850 the worst thing ever.  But twice that many people are enslaved right now!  

Masur linked to a very provocative website , slaveryfootprint.org.  The site uses clever animations and informative blurbs to educate visitors about the scope of human trafficking, and more importantly, to show how our modern Western lifestyles benefit from the labor of the victims of modern slavery.  When I took the test I was told: 

So this week I shared the site with my students, asking them to take the survey for homework, and to write a response.  I was very interested to see what they would say.  I teach at a private school, where many of the students come from relatively privileged backgrounds.  Further, I have students from 8 different countries in my classes (our school draws from over 20 nations).  The responses were quite gratifying:  the students took the project seriously, and several wrote deeply meaningful responses.

One American boy wrote: 

Upon completion of the slavery activity I found that I have 102 slaves working for me. The main contributers to this score included, in order, Lightbulbs, Ibuprophen, Cars, T-shirts, and Ballpoint pens. 

This number is very disappointing. The number of companies involved with slavery was quite extensive. This activity proved the reality of slavery. Slavery is still a major issue in not only foreign countries but also in our homeland. Human trafficking is a major issue in the US as well as around the world. This activity has shown me that people are still living under slave-like conditions and that there are options to end this maltreatment.... The US is a leading cause of the slavery in these areas because of our demand for their products. If the US and other countries refused to buy products manufactured by slaves the slaves would be freed form their bondage....I feel that the Slave Footprint activity was a great way to relate how slavery was back then and how it is now since these periods are very similar and require the same legislation and human effort to end slavery. 

An American girl wrote:

63 slaves work for me.  

This is a great program. It makes it visually appealing so anyone would be interested in taking the survey, and it's really eye-opening.  Even if it doesn't make people give away anything or stop buying anything, at least they can have a greater appreciation for what they have. 

A Chinese boy wrote:

The place I chose was not Shanghai, instead, I chose my hometown Zhengzhou. It is a city in northern China. It is no doubt that China is the “World Factory”. 60% of commodities we use have the label of “Made in China”. It is true that Chinese economy booms and people think that Chinese people are getting rich. It is true that the families which can send their kids to our school are already rich. Radically speaking, it is also true that those families are those 5% people who hold 90% of the wealth of China. 

I was born in a very little town in northern China and I knew what the circumstance it was ten years ago. My father only had two hundred dollars when he got out from college and those money were his entire family property. 10 years, things changed. From a little town without more than 20 apartments and fancy cars to crowded shiny business buildings and Mercedes and BMW cars. People do become rich; however, does everyone get rich? Absolutely not. There is a lot to say the negative impact of the increasing economy. So I decided to pick one example. I am an electronic geek. Computers, headphones, speakers, cameras and programing equipment are my favorite. Apparently 95% of them are made in China. Every Chinese knows a company knows a company called Foxconn. My home town Zhengzhou has the largest Foxconn factory in China. I believe every student at least owns one product from Foxconn. If you flip your iPhone or Macbook, you will read: “Designed by California. Assembled in China”. Foxconn, the largest electronics assembler on the earth. People believe their iPhones were made by machines and robots. True, but only 5% of the jobs are done by machines. The other 95% percent of the work are entirely done by hands. The workers in Foxconn only have the wages 1600 Chinese Yuan (240 USD) per month. 

Nowadays slavery is given  a new definition. Those “slaves” are free. They can talk they can do whatever they want. However, their wages do not equal to the amount of work. An American can make at least 7 dollars an hour but for those workers they can only make 7 dollars a day (12 hours working). I traveled from one of the poorest town on the earth to New York and this is what I do several times. It is very frustrating once you have this kind of experience. 

A Vietnamese girl wrote:

After I did the survey I got the result that approximately 42 slaves worked for me. Although the survey is not 100% correct, it does reflect the truth that slavery exists within modern society and in our daily life. By looking at the estimated number of “slaves” working for us from Slavery Footprint, it seems hard to believe that somewhere in the world people still have to suffer from social inequality. Last November, I had the chance to join the simulation of the UN Human Rights Council at Brown’s Model UN conference. One of the three topics I had to work on that time was the issue of unpaid bondage in Southeast Asia. In the process of preparing for the conference and writing up my position papers, I had the opportunity to read a lot of articles and useful information on unpaid bondage....According to the International Labor Organization, there are about 20.9 million victims at any time. I was totally shocked the first time I saw that number in ILO’s report. More surprisingly, 11.7 million of them, making up about 56% of the total, are from the Asia and Pacific region. These numbers should alert people about the seriousness of this issue. This is the consequence of social hierarchy and the lack of legal protections in this region....Anyway, I think that everyone should be aware of this issue and take it seriously. Moreover, we should all maybe avoid using products that are the results of forced labors. Although the issue of modern slavery requires long-term solutions, I believe that small changes can make a huge difference! 

An American daughter of Indian immigrants wrote:

My slavery footprint was 51 slaves.  This made me sad.  I know--or at least I have a general idea--of who they might be, where they might come from.  I've seen the kind of people that might be forced to work under slavish conditions, sat in taxis driving by them.  I've listened to them beg and been told not to get too close.  In India, giant megacities like Kolkata and Bombay they are everywhere.  Except for the malls--those are gleaming white things with security guards at the doors, meant strictly for the rising middle class.   

...I sit in some aunt's house  and I listen and I watch.  And there are people who aren't slaves, who technically are paid, but still... 

[My grandparent's house], it's normal by our standards but for them it's huge.  So there's a woman who comes and cleans the rooms and does other chores.  After a week of staying with them, we took a train back to Kolkata...The tickets might have cost a few hundred rupees (rupees are 40-50 to a dollar).  I was told that the train tickets were equivalent to one month's salary for the woman.  Not quite slavery, but not the ideal life either... 

And how to respond to this sort of thing?  It might be possible for people to cut back on some products associated with slaves, but not completely.  Inequality has been a part of the world since the beginning of time.  And we're all just teenagers.  What can we do?  So yes, it made me sad.  

 These responses are only a few examples.  I feel proud that I was able to make the students aware of a serious issue, and that I was able to do it in a "holistic" way that meshed with the syllabus and was a natural outgrowth of the historical material.  As a follow-up, I also shared the following links with the class:

• 20 Ways You Can Help Fight Human Trafficking, from the U.S. State Department. 
• How You Can Help, from HumanTrafficking.org
• Made In A Free World, a tumblr blog from the slaveryfootprint.org people. 
• 10 Things Men and Boys Can Do To Stop Human Trafficking, from Ms. Magazine
• List of Goods Made By Child Labor or Forced Labor, from the U.S. Labor Department [.pdf]

Feel free to share this with your children, your worship communities and your friends.  Hopefully if more of us have our consciousness raised we will be able to make a contribution to curbing this scourge.  As Prof. Masur wrote at the conclusion of his article, "today we should celebrate the extraordinary moment in the nation’s history when slavery yielded to freedom. But the work must continue. For those who insist they would have been abolitionists during the Civil War, now is the chance to become one."

Six Month Update--Back to Basics

moreicinc in moreSix months ago today I had my back operation (a microdiscectomy and laminectomy of L5, if you don't remember). While the initial recovery had its ups and downs, overall I am reasonably pleased with my progress.  I saw my surgeon a few weeks ago and he told me that I should feel free to resume all of my normal activities, so that is in itself a pretty good sign. If I had to rate my satisfaction with the process of getting the surgery, I would say that I was 90% satisfied.

In the main, I am feeling a lot better.  I had been dealing with a herniated disc and related nerve pain for six years.  The pain would flare up and give me a really bad 3-4 months and then it would go away.  During these six years I have made lots of changes in my life, from sitting on a balance ball as much as possible (both at home watching TV and and my desk at work), to walking much more (3-4 miles per day 4-5 days per week).  I also spend a considerable amount of time off the ball doing "core" strengthening exercises.

In late October of 2011 I hurt my back again, and the pain was so bad, and required so much medication to get through my day, that I opted for the surgery.  I was also totally numb from hip to toe on my right leg.  Well, since the operation, the pain is almost totally gone, and the numbness has improved a lot.  For reasons unknown to me I had a terrible episode from mid-August to mid-September, where the nerve pain returned and combined with terrible spasming of my piriformis muscle.  I had to resume the full complement of medication just to get through the day (which was depressing) but thanks to exercising and patience it went away eventually.

At this point, though, I am doing fine.  Some days the numbness returns to pre-operative levels, but it is getting better all the time (though the doctor told me that it could take another year until my nerves are fully regenerated).  One thing I have noticed is that most days I have an incredible amount of stiffness and pain in bed and upon waking.  Stretching helps, but most days I take two Naproxen in the morning and two Tylenol later in the day to get relief, and some days I still need to take a Percocet (though this is increasingly rare, thank God).Fortunately the stiffness usually disappears within an hour or two of getting up, but I am thinking of visiting my chiropractor again to see if he has some suggested stretches to help with this issue.

So right now, the challenge is to decide just how far I want to take my doctor's permission to "resume normal activities".  For instance, I went to see a movie a couple of weeks ago (Lincoln--I highly recommend it) and after two and half hours in a reclining movie theatre seat I had two days of really bad back spasms.  So the next time I went to a movie I stood--no pain, but not a recipe for date night with the wife!  I have avoided lengthy car rides, though I've begun increasing my time on the road.  I am somewhat dreading the first heavy snowfall of the winter, and am more than a bit nervous about how I will do swinging a bat during the upcoming softball season (I coach a high school team).  When I mentioned my concerns about swinging a bat to the doctor, he said that he would never recommend that activity, but I should try it, and if I get hurt again he'd be happy to operate again.  I guess that passes for humor in the medical profession...

Well, unless something unexpectedly bad happens this will probably be the last post in this series.  I hope that other sciatic pain sufferers have had the chance to read these jottings, and that they have been helpful.  Feel free to leave comments if you wish, and good luck!

Notes on Dr. Strangelove

On Thursday, October 4, 2012 I was the guest speaker at the kickoff to a film discussion series hosted by Penn State Wilkes-Barre at Movies 14 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.  The overall theme of the series is movies that have to do with the end of the world.  The first film chosen was Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove: Or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying And  Love The Bomb.  Since the film deals with the "Doomsday" scenario of World War III and (spoiler alert!) ends with a global nuclear holocaust, it is a fitting kick-off to the series. 

My role was to share some thoughtful remarks about the movie and ask questions aimed at stimulating discussion among the 50 or so people in attendance.  The audience was made up of students from the local Penn State campus, a local parochial school, and interested members of the community.  What follows is my introductory remarks, followed by some of the questions I asked.

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I have watched Dr. Strangelove at least 20 times.  Growing up in the Philadelphia area, it was often shown on the now-defunct Channel 48. I have also taught the movie to my history classes at Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School in Kingston, Pennsylvania.  This film resonates with me on many levels, including:

•  the setting of the U.S. Air Force of the 1960's and the tensions of the Cold War
• the comedic stylings of Peter Sellers (who plays the roles of Group Captain Lionel Mandrake (RAF), President Merkin Muffley and  nuclear scientist Dr. Strangelove), George C. Scott, who plays the quintessential All-American boy grown up to be a Cold Warrior, General Buck Turgidson, and Slim Pickens, as rustic B-52 pilot Major "King" Kong
• the many lines of the script that I cannot get out of my head.  I think about this movie all the time, and I am glad to be able to talk about it with you tonight.

When the movie premiered in 1964 (it's original debut at Christmas 1963 was delayed after the murder of President Kennedy) my father was an Airman First Class stationed at a U.S. Air Force base in England.  As a child I always enjoyed playing with his old uniform, and seeing people on screen wearing those exact clothes was quite interesting; it made me empathize with the Air Force personnel in the film who die defending Burpleson Air Force Base from the Army.  

The Air Force personnel shown in the movie are either boringly competent functionaries (like the crew of the B-52), paranoid crazies, or both.  Scott's characterization of Turgidson is a tour-de-force.  Famous critic Roger Ebert has praised the performance as "the funniest thing in the movie, better even than the inspired triple performance by Peter Sellers or the nutjob general played by Sterling Hayden." Ebert notes that he was especially impressed by the "tics and twitches, the grimaces and eybrow archings, the sardonic smiles and gum chewing..."  that help us understand the kind of man Gen. Turgidson is.  From the first moment we see him, in the midst of an evening tryst with his secretary (played by Tracy Reed, whose Playboy centerfold was being ogled by Major Kong during his  first appearance on screen) it is obvious that he is all id, and that his lack of impulse control is a foreshadowing of his lack of control over the Air Force.  

It is somewhat interesting that each of the Air Force officers featured in the movie are preoccupied with sex.  From the aptly named "Buck Turgidson", to girlie-mag loving Maj. Kong who notes that with "...one issue of prophylactics; three lipsticks; three pair of nylon stockings. Shoot, a fella' could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas ..." to the sexually impotent General Jack D. Ripper, who blames his failure to perform in bed to a "post-war Commie conspiracy" to weaken Americans' "essence" through fluoridation of the water supply.  The movie seems intent on pointing out the psycho-sexual import of the Air Force, especially considering the opening credits, which is about as explicit a sex scene as you could get in 1964: 

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Mid-20th century technology plays a vital role in the movie, advancing the storyline inexorably until the world faces nuclear annihilation via computer (with, perhaps, a potential survival plan that also relies on computers to choose "survivors" based on, among other factors, "sexual fertility").  But technologies like radar, jet aircraft, and the "Big Board" in the War Room are also important.  Watching the movie again recently surprised me that so many key moments of the movie involve a character talking into the phone!  Mandrake's lack of a dime to call Washington and call back the bombers is funny as well as an historical anachronism that many young people (who carry phones in their pockets) might not appreciate.  My favorite is when the effete President Merkin Muffley (a "merkin" is a wig for the pubic region that actors wear during nude scenes) has to brief the drunk, womanizing Soviet Premier Kissoff.  This scene is  a clear take off on the then-current comic routines of Bob Newhart, whose stand-up comedy consisted of listening to one side of a phone call.

Speaking of anachronisms, to young people watching the movie today, it may be hard to relate to the oppressive air of doom that hung over the world during the Cold War.  In his inaugural address, President Kennedy referred to the "uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind's final war".  Everyone was certain that a nuclear war between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. was inevitable and that the deterrence which was based on the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction would ultimately fail.  Of course in the movie, it doesn't so much fail, as get carried out to it's most logical conclusion.  During the 1960's,  soldiers like my father were issued these "pocket computers" that would calculate the  yield and destructive force of a nuclear attack--they were also given out as part of the presskit for Dr. Strangelove. Young people were taught to take shelter under schooldesks or in doorways when a surprise attack occurred. And during the 1960 election, voters were warned of a growing "missile gap", where the Soviets were building significantly more nuclear missiles than the U.S. (in actuality, the American arsenal outnumbered the Soviets' by 17 to 1).  1960's era worries about "gaps" (like the missile gap, the generation gap and later the credibility gap) definitely informed the black humor of the final scene, when a desperate Gen. Turgidson berates President Muffley over a putative "mineshaft gap" 100 years in the future.

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I have incorporated many lines of dialogue from this movie into my daily life.  Some are merely references, such as when I speak the word "computer" in a Dr. Strangelove accent.  Or, referencing the scene where Gen. Ripper is shooting an M-60 at the Army assault team and he asks his British attache to give him ammunition;  when I am very hungry I will appropriate the line "Feed me, Mandrake".  Then there are the quotes, such as when I got out of bed after my recent back surgery, and said "Mein Fuhrer!  I can walk!"  Similarly, I cannot drive in the direction of the Northeast Extension past Geisinger Hospital without hearing Slim Pickens' vow to "get them [bomb bay] doors open if it harelips everyone on Bear Creek".   By all accounts, the screenplay (which is credited to Kubrick, Terry Southern and Peter George (who wrote the book upon which the movie is based) was augmented quite a bit by ad-libs from the actors.  Regardless of who is responsible for what, it is a very well written film.

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•  My first question to you tonight is: did you find the movie funny?  If so, what parts, and why?  Or if not, why not?

• Loudon Wainwright, the editor of Life  magazine wrote :

 "I found myself at the edge of tears as I watched a series of nuclear explosions fill the screen, and heard a sweet female voice singing 'We'll meet again/ don't know where, don't know when/ but I know we'll meet again some sunny day.'...Was I sad that the movie's world was ending?  Was I having an attack of hysterics brought on by the film's repeated and stunning outrages?  Or had I suddenly arrived after prolonged laughter at a glimpse of some awful truth?"  

What do you think of the ending of the movie?  Is it sad?  Is it a "good" ending, or do you find it anti-climactic?

• Next question:  reaction to the movie in 1964 was often very critical.  The New York Times printed a letter to the editor saying "Dr. Strangelove is straight propaganda, and dangerous propaganda at that.  It is an anti-American tract unmatched in invective by even our declared enemies."  Another letter added that the film "indulges in the most insidious and highly dangerous form of public opinion tampering concerning a vital sector of our national life...which needs public funds, public understanding and public support to do its job."  Even the official reviewer for the Times worried that the movie was "a bit too contemptuous of our defense establishment for my comfort and taste."  Were these people right or wrong?  Was the movie "anti-American"?  Did it weaken the country's defenses by showing incompetents and buffoons in high places?  Did it show a lack of respect toward the people in charge?  

• The Washington Post's review made a fascinating remark.  Writing on January 30, 1964, Robert Estabrook noted:

President Kennedy saw Dr. Strangelove shortly before his death, and it would be interesting to know his full reaction.  Perhaps Mr. Kubrick accomplishes his objective in getting people talking.  But it is worth asking what constructive purpose there is in exaggerating a complex problem so as to portray men who have served the free world well as a bunch of irrational simpletons.

What do you think JFK would have thought about this, coming only a year or so after the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the disputes that led to the erection of the Berlin Wall?  And is it wrong to poke fun at people in positions of responsibility?

• There is definitely a lot of exaggeration in the movie, from Dr. Strangelove's mysterious disability, to Mandrake's stiff upper lip.  But according to Kubrick in an article in the Los Angeles Times, 

"I kept coming up with things and found myself saying I can't do this, people will laugh at it.  But by being realistic...it shows that the leaders are just human beings subject to the same banalities and absurdities as the rest of us. 

I found it good to nurture this to achieve what I call nightmare comedy.  This was the tone that fit the situation--the state of the world.  Very few of the laughs are jokes.  I think people laugh at a sudden sense---perhaps the truth--of what you might call the human equation.  

It's a brink of doom situation and they're confronted with the same elements of everyday life.  You suddenly realize the folly of man..." 

Do you think that Kubrick was serious about making a "realistic" movie?

• Despite the negative reviews, the film set box office records when it came out, and it was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay at the 1964 Academy Awards (Peter Sellers was also nominated for Best Actor). It is also listed in the "Top 100 Films" by filmsite.org.   Do you think that the film deserved these nominations?  Is it a "great film"?  If so, why?  If not, why not?

• Another scholar  has written about the music in the movie.   Caran Wakefield writes:

When the crew receives the fatal plan of attack, the traditional battle hymn "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" rings majestically in the background as homage to the misguided soldiers.  This sonorous brass fanfare provides the only background music in the entire film, highlighting the heroic qualities of courage and loyalty that the crew demonstrates...[t]he music absolves these characters...Kubrick presents them not as culprits but as victims of an irony beyond their ability to comprehend.

Pretty deep stuff.  What do you think?  Was the air crew heroic?  Or were they to blame for the destruction they (unwittingly, thanks to the Doomsday device) unleashed?

• One thing that many observers point out about the movie is the sexual connotations of character's names.  According to our friends at filmsite.org, this includes the following:

Character Name	Sexual Connotation or Reference	Actor
Jack D. Ripper	a notorious English psychopathic killer of prostitutes, or a killer in general	Sterling Hayden
Mandrake	a medicinal plant root or herb, said to encourage fertility, conception or potency - an aphrodisiac	Peter Sellers
Buck Turgidson	a "buck" is a male animal or stud; "turgid" means distended or swollen; and his delayed love-making to a real-life Playboy centerfold Tracy Reed - theonly woman in the entire film	George C. Scott
Merkin Muffley	merkin = slang for female pubic area or pudendum; muff = a woman's pubic area or genitalia, or specifically, the pubic hair/fur/wig for the female crotch	Peter Sellers
Col. 'Bat' Guano	bat excrement	Keenan Wynn
Soviet premier Dmitri Kissof	"kiss-off", literally means 'start of disaster', or to dump or scorn	Voice only
Ambassador Desadeski	named after the Marquis de Sade - an infamous and perverted sexual lover and sadist in the 18th century (sade-ism)	Peter Bull
Maj. T.J. "King" Kong	signifying a male beast with a primitive, destructive, obsessive lust	Slim Pickens
Dr. Strange-love	perverted love	Peter Sellers
The bombs	Inscribed with "Dear John" and "Hi There"

Do you think that these names were chosen consciously to make a point, or do you think it was just the writers horsing around?

• In a review of the film from 1965, Tony Macklin stated that "Dr. Strangelove is a sex allegory: from foreplay to explosion in the mechanized world."  He lists examples ranging from Gen. Ripper's "phallic" cigar and machine gun to the "womb-like" War Room, to the "mechanized" Dr. Strangelove, "whose name captures the essence of the film".  He closes the review by writing:

The film concludes with a panorama of beautiful mushroom clouds destroying the world, as Vera Lynn sweetly sings 'We'll Meet Again'.  Impotence is no more.  Warped sex has been erased.  Civilization can go back to its beginnings.  Dr. Strangelove...ends in an orgiastic purgation.  Kauffmann says 'This film says ...the real Doomsday Machine is men'.  Actually, the real Doomsday Machine is sex.  As King Kong, Buck Turgidson, and Dr. Strangelove himself would chorus, 'What a Way to Go!'  Love that bomb.

Do you agree that the the film is an allegory? If so, why?  If not, why not?

• The director of photography (cinematographer) for the movie was Gilbert Taylor, who among other films also shot Star Wars, The Omen, and several episodes of The Avengers.  But most intriguing to me is that he also shot the Beatles' first film, A Hard Days' Night, which has several things in common with this movie (shot in England, in black and white, directed by an American, with lots of ad libbed dialogue).  When I learned this connection it instantly clicked.  I encourage you to watch AHDN and see how similar the "look" of the film is--there is definitely a "Gilbert Taylor touch" at work. 

• Susan Sontag reviewed the movie upon its release and wrote that "intellectuals and adolescents both love it. But the 16-year olds who are lining up to see it understand the film and its real virtues, better than the intellectuals, who vastly overpraise it." Jeremy Boxen, in "Just What The Doctor Ordered: Cold War Purging, Political Dissent and the Right Hand of Dr. Strangelove",  goes on to write:

In the later part of the decade, these 16-year olds would become the university students who dominated the movement of political protest and counter-culture lifestyle that resulted in the large, anti-war demonstrations in New York, Chicago and Washington.  500,000 of these young adults would turn up at the Woodstock concert in 1969, which was as much of a defining event of the late 1960's as the Vietnam protest in Washington, occurring a few months later in the same year and drawing the same number of people. As much as any film can claim to influence a society, 'Dr. Strangelove' helped to fuel a generation of dissent.

Do you think this is true?  Was this film's jaundiced look at authority and America's armed forces  a catalyst for the youth movement of the 1960's?