Donate NowWe talk to senior fellow at the University of Sydney’s United States Studies Centre Stephen Loosley to find out what film can teach us about the possible cold wars to come. As Russia masses troops on the Ukrainian border and China ramps up its military presence in the South China Sea and South East Asia, the development of new Pacific and global alliances such as the quad and AUKUS creates tensions amongst the world superpowers, it seems like a new cold war is on the horizon.
But do rising tensions really mean that the West faces “New Cold Wars”? Maybe the movies can tell us. We discuss what films like Wolf Warrior, Viking, and of course Dr. Strangelove mean for the state of international affairs. Does Xi Jinping’s weaponisation of Wolf Warrior II presage a more global Chinese military adventurism? Does Vladimir Putin’s endorsement of Viking telegraph his intention to invade Ukraine? And what do our own Cold War movies tell us about ourselves?