ipl-logo

Dr Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb

772 Words4 Pages

In 1947, two years after the harsh conclusion of World War 2, the wretched Cold War came into play. Although the Cold War refers to the more general tension between the defensive and offensive sides at the time, it was a battle of words and actions between the Soviet Union and the United States of America. The 1964 film Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb expresses the main idea of such tension through farcical terms, and shows that the United States was, and is, clearly capable of initiating World War 3 by provoking the Soviet Union. However, the film was created to highlight the political terms of the time, which, as aforementioned, includes the Cold War.
In 1964, the year Dr Strangelove made its grand debut in theaters, the United States of America was covered by alarming clouds of doubt, fear, and constant dismay. As one may know, the events leading up to the 1960s brought the likelihood of a nuclear holocaust, which instilled fear in the vast majority of the …show more content…

Kennedy began his presidential campaign, he stated that America would not be prepared in the event of a Soviet attack, thus implying that the Americans were weak, and the Soviets were far too advanced. Stanley Kubrick, the director of Dr Strangelove, indirectly strove to go beyond this idea by creating such a film. As the Cold War film unravels, the United States Air Force Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper orders his base to be shut down and put under heavy alert, as well as ordering the sole patrolling aircraft, commanded by Major T.J. “King” Kong, to abide by the “Wing Attack Plan R” initiative. This destroys all communication with the aircraft, and may only be preceded if a secret three-letter code is fed to the system. When General Ripper’s Group Captain Lionel Mandrake discovers that this war order was issued by Ripper himself and not the Pentagon, Mandrake attempts to stop him, and soon realizes that General Ripper is indeed

Show More
Related

Stanley Kubrick's 1964 Political Satire In Dr Strangelove

562 Words | 3 Pages

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 political satire commentary on the Cold War. The film is built around the actions of the delusion Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper, who is convinced of an “international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids.” Ripper’s highly unlikely theory leads him to command his B-52’s to drop hydrogen bombs on the U.S.S.R. by initiating Wing Attack Plan R, designed to be issued by a military official if a sneak attack were to wipe out Washington officials. It is only after Ripper puts his military base on lockdown that other government officials realize what’s going on, but by then it’s too late. Upon discovering that there are thermonuclear weapons en route to the Soviet Union,

Read More

The Controversy Of The Rosenberg Trial During The Mccarthy Era

692 Words | 3 Pages

On August 6, 1945, the first of two atomic bombs was dropped on Japan, sparking the start of what is now known as the Cold War. Two large military powers, the Soviet communists and the United States of America, pitted their wits and defense against each other, using any means necessary to find cracks in the others’ defenses. Three days later, the second atom bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, which shook the world with its deafening death toll. The world immediately took up arms in the following years, sparking some of the most controversial years in history. Suspicion turned brothers against sisters, neighbors against neighbors, and caused many lives to be ruined.

Read More

Capitalism Vs Cold War Essay

658 Words | 3 Pages

A War of Ideas: Capitalism V.S. Communism With tension rising in Berlin, Germany, between Capitalism and Communism, a war of hostility broke out: the Cold War. The Cold War was a war between the western democracy capitalist United States and the totalitarian communist Soviet Union. These two superpowers held the fate of the world in their hands. Tension rose to an unbearable level during the Cold War, almost entering into World War III.

Read More

Cold War Dbq Analysis

643 Words | 3 Pages

The American War Against Fear World War II was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, in which it encompassed the major nations in the world, including the United States of America. The aftermath of the war, in which the United States and its allied powers emerged victorious, should have marked a period of political tranquility. However this supposition proved incorrect, as the American ethos was ravaged by a state of political and military tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. More than a military conflict, the Cold War was an ideological war in which democracy and communism clashed. The Cold War fears of the American people, reflected in the mass hysteria behind the Red Scare and McCarthyism, was entrenched in the

Read More

Cold War Mr Reichow Summary

1130 Words | 5 Pages

The Cold War spanned approximately 44 years, from 1947 until 1991. Although the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union (also known as the USSR) never resulted in actual warfare, the “war” itself instilled a deep sense of fear in the hearts of Americans and others around the world. One of the many Americans deeply worried by the possible outcome of the Cold War was Mr. Christopher “Kit” Reichow. Mr. Reichow is a retired engineer from Lockheed Martin of 32 years. Mr. Reichow’s account on the Cold War exposes the chilling realities of living through the Cold War, which textbooks cannot depict.

Read More

How Did The Cold War Shaped American Culture

570 Words | 3 Pages

The Cold War Era started in 1946 and lasted until 1989 when the Berlin war fell signifying its end. Many events happened through this time period that shaped American culture and brought us to where we are today. It all started in march 1947, which reflected the combativeness of president Harry Truman. Secretary George c Marshall told Europe that that policy of the United States was not directed “ against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos.” in 1947 the brutish announced that they could no longer support the pro western governments of the Mediterranean in their fight against communism. If the US could not take up the burden the whole region was in danger of falling under communist roll.

Read More

Cold War Dbq Essay

1246 Words | 5 Pages

“Mankind must put an end to world war or war will put an end to mankind.” (John F. Kennedy). Before the Cold War, the world was in the second world war of the century, soldiers not only killing soldiers, but also civilians. After World War II countries tried to get freedom from the countries that colonized them. Before the Cold War only one country had and dropped a nuclear bomb, but that would not be the case during the Cold War.

Read More

How Did The Cold War Affect The Civil Rights Movement

771 Words | 4 Pages

The Cold War was nonviolent tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. They were in a conflict about who would be the main world power. The war had many effects on American society. During the war, both sides had nuclear weapons ready to use if needed, however, these weapons were never used because it could have resulted in nuclear annihilation. The public perception was completely different during and after the war.

Read More

How Did The United States Develop In The 1940s

228 Words | 1 Pages

1950s Rock The tension from the Soviet Union and USA caused the Cold war. USA and Russia fought as allies in World War ll to help defeat Germany (Nazi) but USA was always wary of the leader at the time. The Cold The Cold War was an 45 year conflict between US and Soviet Union. Though an actual “war” never happened the two nations acted as if they were at war.

Read More

Dbq Essay On The Cold War

777 Words | 4 Pages

Between the years of 1947 and 1991 the USSR and the United States remained in a long period of tension known as The Cold War. This war was a state of political and economical in proxy wars such as the space race and the arms race the lead to the weakening of American society and laws. Marking the end of the Cold War in 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed due to their economic failure and their approach to the space race. As the Cold War intensified there was a significant increase in infrastructures and military, a shift in education, and there was an overall fear in society. Education in the United States began to focus on science instead of general education in an attempt to try and win the “space race” against the Soviet Union.

Read More

Stanley Kubbrick's Use Of Satire In Dr Strangelove

736 Words | 3 Pages

In Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove, the hysteria of the Cold War is turned into an overblown and dark satirical piece that spurs many different reactions and opinions. In the wake of the terrifyingly tense Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 that saw the world at its closest point to nuclear war, Dr. Strangelove is a very unwelcome form of comic relief for many movie-goers. 2 years later, the tension between our country and the USSR remains high, and the release of this kind of movie feels unwarranted and insensitive to the public’s current distress. Director Stanley Kubrick did not simply create this film for shock value and controversy, though. Despite his hyperbolic vision of nuclear chaos, Kubrick’s underlying criticism of cold war politics and ideologies proves to be brilliant for those who can take his dark humor in stride.

Read More

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold Movie Analysis

327 Words | 2 Pages

The movie Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Stopped Worrying and Loved the Bomb and the novel “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold” written by John Le Carre, Both take place during the cold war era. The movie and novel share multiple similarities and many differences. The novel tells a story of a spy that gives information away and finds himself in danger. The movie depicts politicians and members of the United States army trying to resolve a mishap that ends up putting the world into a nuclear holocaust. Both the movie and the novel deal with ethical dilemmas of the superpower struggle.

Read More

Hunt For Red October Analysis

1035 Words | 5 Pages

The outcome of the movie, The Hunt for Red October, was that the US Navy on the USS Dallas and the Soviet Navy on the Red October were able to successfully destroy the enemy submarine, the V. K. Konovalov. Without the CIA analyst and former Marine, Jack Ryan’s convincing that the Red Octobers captain was trying to defect, the Soviet Union would have launched missiles on the United States east coast. The teamwork of the Navy’s caused the enemy submarine to be dismantled. The movie portrayed battles between two Soviet Union submarines, the Red October, the V. K. Konovalov, and a United States submarine, the USS Dallas.

Read More

Kennedy's Address About The Cuban Missile Crisis

484 Words | 2 Pages

I didn’t know what this meant at the time but soon I figured it out. 2. The term “Cold War” means fear of an invisible force. I remember reading in the news Kennedy’s address about the Cuban Missile Crisis. This address scared me as I didn’t ever think that America could ever be under attack.

Read More

Was The Cold War Inevitable Essay

969 Words | 4 Pages

Some historians believe the Cold War was inevitable because of the hostilities from both America and the Soviet Union after World War II. America believed that the USSR was an expansionist country trying to spread an evil, communistic idea throughout the world. Although the countries never directly fought against each other, as they only fought in proxy wars, there was still extreme conflict. The United States responded to the Soviets actions in Germany, Europe, and their national actions. These responses were justifiable, or so many Americans at the time believed.

Read More

More about Dr Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb

Related Topics

Open Document