Dr Strangelove Character Analysis

The Cold War was a brutal standoff between Russia and the United States. In the early stages of the Cold War many people feared the rise of communists and the possibility of nuclear destruction. The Cold War had many social, economic and military aspects, and the film, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, represented many of these aspects, but in a humorous way. The film centered around what would happen if a rogue military officer initiated a preemptive nuclear attack on Russia and how the U.S. leadership would react. General Turgidson was a character from the film who was in the war room with all of the U.S. leaders discussing the threat of nuclear destruction. General Turgidson symbolizes two aspects of the Cold War because he epitomized patriotism, and he had an attitude of American superiority in the face of world domination by the Soviet Union with the ever present threat of nuclear annihilation. During the late forties and fifties, people were afraid of Russia and anyone belonging to the Communist Party. Russia was dominated by communism during the Cold War, while America was a capitalist country. America took communism as a threat to their freedom and therefore, people feared the rise of communism in America. People were constantly asked

Eisenhower talked about the military and how much it had changed since World War II. “In the councils of the government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex” (Pearson). However, what exactly was the military-industrial complex? “The military-industrial complex refers to any set of relationships between military policy and industrial production” (Ball). General Turgidson’s mind was wired around the military-industrial complex because he believed that once something was done he should finish it and defeat the enemy while limiting collateral