Targets of Satire in "Dr. Strangelove"

Strangelove Paper

With the release of Dr. Strangelove, Or: How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, came a satirical black comedy criticizing the political issue that dominated the time period, The Cold War. Directed by Stanley Kubrick, Dr. Strangelove offered a humorous film to mock the serious period of American history controlled by the fears of nuclear warfare with the Soviet Union. Kubrick’s film was aimed at the Cold War, the sexual fixation of men, particularly the military.

The film’s primary satirical target, the Cold War, is criticized throughout the film for feared thought of a nuclear war with the Russians. General Jack D. Ripper, a military madman orders an end to communism, and gives a un-retractable command, he orders a nuclear attack on the Russians. The fact that a military commander can order a nuclear strike and the idea that it cannot be recalled questions the intelligence of leaders involve and the weakness of one man possessing such ...