Dr. Strangelove begins with a narrator 's voice informing the audience of the Soviet Union 's possible construction of a "Doomsday Device.” As the movie progresses, a nuclear missile attack from armed B-52s on Russia is ordered by the clearly insane, anti-Communist Burpelson Air Force Base commander, General Jack D. Ripper, convinced that the Communists are planning a takeover of the United States by adding fluoride to the water supply. Known as “Wing Attack Plan R,” this plan allowed Ripper to bypass higher-ups and start a nuclear war.
In order to fix the mistake that was made by General Ripper before nuclear war commences, President Merkin Muffley consults with the Soviet Ambassador, Alexei de Sadeski. Muffley also calls a drunk Soviet Premier Dimitri Kissov in order to convince him that General Ripper acted alone, and that the dropping of the bombs was not ordered by the U.S. government. Kisov notifies Muffley that if the Soviet
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Strangelove is essentially a dramatization of what happens when competing superpowers both possess extremely destructive devices, like nuclear bombs. Kubrick uses humor to make his audience understand the real dangers of access to these weapons by trigger happy morons. With the creation of Plan R, he demonstrates how easy it would be for just one person to set the world ablaze. While General Ripper was just a character in a black and white movie, personalities like his are more common than should be allowed in positions of power.
The Cuban Missile Crisis perfectly exemplifies this tension. Cuba chose the side of Communist Russia, so it was an uncomfortable situation for everyone when Americans found out that they had stashed weapons off the coast of Florida. Both countries were poised on the edge of a knife for thirteen long days. This event was the closest the Cold War came to proper war. In situations like this it can become hard to gain perspective and clarity, and Dr. Strangelove offered both to an audience that badly needed