blogger.comelove or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb, is one of Stanley Kubrick's greatest works and the best dark comedy to hit the silver screen. Kubrick perfectly captures the tension caused by the Cold War and boldly produces The gender roles and sexual themes in Dr. Strangelove are frighteningly stark. The leading men are portrayed as largely unstable (i.e. Ripper, Strangelove, involved in power struggles, and homicidal. General Ripper is obsessed with preserving his “precious bodily fluids”, and General Turgidson is propelled into idiocy by testosterone and fear Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” () is perhaps the darkest comedy of all time. Based on Peter George’s novel “Red Alert,” the film is a brutal political satire that culminates in the obliteration of the entire planet in a hail of thermonu- clear bombs
Dr. Strangelove Review - College Essay Examples
Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb presents us with a fascinating satirical snapshot of the Cold War. It reflects back at us the absurdity of US and to a similar extent Soviet nuclear policy. Kubrick uses character flaws to symbolize and scathingly criticize the institutions that those characters represent. This criticism is wide reaching, spanning from the weakness of the British military and American politicians to the warmongering of the US Military-Industrial Complex and the latent Nazism of the American scientific community. Naturally, each unreliable character in the film represents a separate fear or anxiety the American public had about specific institutions. Generals Ripper and Turgidson each represent the wild and warmongering behavior of the US military particularly the US Air Force and the bloat and waste of the military-industrial complex during the Cold War.
The amorality and latent Nazism of the American scientific community, especially those members involved in nuclear capable missile research, is symbolized in Dr. There is however one overarching flaw shared by all of the characters: impotence. Impotence is what drives all of these characters to act as they do. The most obvious case of impotence is dr strangelove essay General Ripper, as dr strangelove essay impotence is literal, and his delusions about its causes are what motivate him to dr strangelove essay out dr strangelove essay plan to bomb the Soviet Union and creates the central conflict of the film. But it is not delusion alone that drives him. He believes the US military has been made impotent by politicians, and that the US is not taking a hard enough stance on the Soviets.
This idea very much reflects sentiments within the military community at the time and probably somewhere within every army in every country in every century. In contrast to Ripper, General Turgidson is shown as being virile. One could interpret Ripper as representing the violence the US military could commit, as evidenced by his name. In contrast, Turgidson would represent the military-industrial complex and the bloat of the US military. Indr strangelove essay, the US military had not flexed its dr strangelove essay in total war since and had not been allowed to deploy its most powerful weapons since the bombing of Nagasaki, despite requests to do so during the Korean War. The violent aspect of the military is unused, leading to frustration in Ripper.
In contrast, military spending was alive and well. Indr strangelove essay, defense spending accounted for 9. Consider the situation 50 years later indr strangelove essay, and defense spending was only 4. Turgidson is dr strangelove essay no means satisfied with merely having the means to destroy Russia, and still prefers a release to the long military buildup. Again, Kubrick uses sexual frustration to illustrate these feelings. Turgidson is interrupted while with dr strangelove essay secretary at the beginning of the crisis. Throughout the film, Turgidson seems eager to dr strangelove essay the nuclear war over with.
In contrast to both Ripper and Turgidson, Mandrake does not long for war, and he adds physical failings to moral and mental ones. Mandrake is a high ranking Royal Air Force officer Group Captain is equivalent to Colonel in the US ranking system dr strangelove essay apparently served during WWII as a Spitfire fighter pilot. He is timid, apologetic, and unassertive. Once it is assumed that Mandrake represents the British Empire in general and the British military in particular, his flaws are easily interpreted as criticisms of these institutions. His inability to assist Ripper with the machine gun is symbolic of the loss of British will to fight alongside the US. His false leg itself indicates the loss of British ability to fight, as well as the loss of parts of the British Empire in the postwar period.
Beyond witnessing his physical impotence, we see Mandrake try unsuccessfully to convince Ripper to call off his attack. It is easy to interpret this as a sign of British diplomacy failing to convince the US to hold off in Vietnam or other conflicts. Even before the end of WWII, Britain was already losing influence. By the time of the film, Britain was no longer a power on roughly equal footing with the US, but a dependent with relatively little say in what America wanted to do. We again see a symbol of failing diplomacy when Mandrake is attempting to contact President Muffley, but is obstructed by Colonel Bat Guano, with diplomacy and collaboration hindered by the US military.
In the same scene, British cultural irrelevance is also emphasized. This exchange shows the British as culturally dependent on American companies. Yet the dr strangelove essay scene could also be a criticism of the influence of corporate America on the world, rather than a comment on British cultural dependency, a nod towards who really runs the world. Until the final moments of the film, he is unable to use his legs, and one of his hands acts on its own throughout. His alien hand could be symbolic of latent Nazism in Operation Paperclip scientists. We see a similar whitewashing with Strangelove, who changed his name from Merkw? Once it dr strangelove essay inevitable that the doomsday device will be activated he progressively loses control of his alien hand, culminating with a Nazi salute to the president.
Strangelove begins describing how humanity could persist underground. As he describes the arguably eugenic factors that would be used to determine who lived on in a shelter and who died aboveground, dr strangelove essay, Strangelove appears more or less unconcerned by the potential for catastrophe throughout the film and happily provides scientific advice to the President and military representatives. Strangelove is crippled because Germany was crippled, and far more severely than Britain. While Mandrake can put on a show of being able bodied, there is no pretending for Strangelove, dr strangelove essay, just as West Germany could no longer pretend to be a dominant power.
Throughout the film, although he is the leader of the dominant power, President Merkin Muffley is ineffectual and unable to control his subordinates. Again, the very name of his character is representative of his dr strangelove essay. Both his first and last name refer to the female genitalia, and his character is timid and weak. He appears, and is seen by his advisers as, weak towards the Soviets, even inviting them into the war room against the advice of Turgidson. Additionally, he does not seem to be up to date on nuclear strategy or technology.
When informed of the existence of Wing Attack Plan R, which Ripper issued to his bombers, the President dr strangelove essay indignant and surprised. Turgidson reminds him that he approved the plan after being accused of being weak towards the Soviets. When this happens, the President appears to be embarrassed; it is clear that he has lost face. This setup shows the inability of the President, and thus the civilian American public, dr strangelove essay, to control the military, even when they are the ones approving plans. He is similarly surprised that the US is pursuing its own doomsday device program, even though the source is the New York Times. If it is assumed that, as the President, Muffley also symbolizes the American public, then this ignorance of nuclear strategy and technology becomes representative of the tendency of the public towards ignorance, even in important matters.
Indirectly, the public did approve of Wing Attack Plan R and an American doomsday device program by electing Muffley and other politicians. The problem faced in the film is ultimately born from institutional failures allowed to fester by an ignorant and disinterested public. Kubrick, through symbolism and satire, showcases the failures of all the major institutions that control the use of nuclear weapons. The military is depicted as hotheaded, rash, and paranoid, while politicians are painted weak and ineffectual. The scientific community is shown as willing lab dogs for the military-industrial complex.
Both the British and the Russians act as fading powers, vulnerable to the whims of the US. Much of this is hidden in plain sight, with names accurately describing character traits. At the time, the film offered a hard look at what the public had let grow in America, and dr strangelove essay offers audiences a terrifying glimpse of just how close we came to oblivion. Works Cited Trueman, Chris. Lindley, Dan. University of Notre Dame, 8 Sept. Smitha, Frank E. Gaertner Humanities Incorporated, n. Chantrill, Christopher. Strangelove; Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Stanley Kubrick. Hawk Films. Released by Columbia Pictures Corp. Remember: This is just a sample from a fellow student. Starting from 3 hours delivery.
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Dr. Strangelove: The Humor in Horror
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Mar 19, · The Cold War was a period in time where the two superpowers of the world, the United States and the Soviet Union came out of World War 2 with constant tension. The film “Dr. Strangelove”, directed by Stanley Kubrick, depicts some common themes in a satirical tone. A highlighted theme that is mentionable is sexism and the stereotype surrounded by The gender roles and sexual themes in Dr. Strangelove are frighteningly stark. The leading men are portrayed as largely unstable (i.e. Ripper, Strangelove, involved in power struggles, and homicidal. General Ripper is obsessed with preserving his “precious bodily fluids”, and General Turgidson is propelled into idiocy by testosterone and fear blogger.comelove or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb, is one of Stanley Kubrick's greatest works and the best dark comedy to hit the silver screen. Kubrick perfectly captures the tension caused by the Cold War and boldly produces
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