Match the words with the meanings below
Satire
Obsessed
Destruction
Conspiracy
Black comedy
1. To be preoccupied with or constantly worried about something
2. A secret plan by a group to do something illegal or dangerous
3. The use of humour or ridicule to show up people’s stupidity,
usually related to politics
4. The act of causing so much damage to something that it can
never be fixed
5. A mix of comedy and terror, where things are so bad you might
as well laugh
It's the early 1960s. Jack D. Ripper, an insane U.S. Air Force
general obsessed with fears of "the Communist conspiracy," orders
the B-52s under his command to launch a nuclear attack on the Soviet
Union. Only General Ripper has the code to recall the bombers. Once
the planes are on their way he shuts down the base, tells his
soldiers to defend it and refuses all communication. Telephone calls
from the Air Force and from the President go unanswered, as the
planes the General sent move closer to Russian cities. The President
and his advisors urgently gather in the "War Room" and try to work
out how to stop the destruction of the world. The movie is a black
comedy about the risks of accidental nuclear war and a satire of the
fragile state of American-Russian affairs in the 1960s.
Read the questions below and write down your answers using what you
know and the reading text above.
1. Which two countries were involved in the Cold War?
2. What did Russia used to be called?
3. At the time of this film, what political system did Russia
use?
4. How is the state of Russian-American affairs described?
Discussion
There are still many thousands of nuclear bombs in the world. Should
we be worried about nuclear war, accidental or intentional? What can
be done about this?