Dr Strangelove Film Analysis

Dr. Strangelove Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb chronicles the lead up to full out nuclear war after General Ripper calls for a non recallable unprovoked nuclear attack on the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Both the characters and the plot encapsulate the anxieties caused by the Cold war both foreign and domestic. Dr. Strangelove serves as a lens to explain the anxieties associated with the NSC-68 Cold War blueprint and the Korean War by portraying the mindsets of President Truman and John Foster Dulles in the characters of General Ripper and General Turgidson. The film also depicts domestic anxieties regarding women’s rights and McCarthyism through General Turgidson’s interactions with women and the Russian ambassador.

While attempting to sort out the nuclear crisis in the war room, Turgidson is frequently distracted from his anxieties about the war abroad by a few different women. It’s apparent that he only appreciates them sexually, as he constantly demeans them by referring to the women as “baby” and tells them “don't forget to say your prayers”. General Turgidson uses belittling terms with women as a control mechanism to help mask his angst about the war. Turgidson’s treatment of women, especially in the workplace, is the same treatment that the National Organization for Women fought against in the 60’s. During the Cold War era women desired equal participation in the country both foreign and domestic but felt that their unfair treatment in the government and industry was “in itself a deterrent to the aspirations of women (270). The National Organization for Women worked “toward a fully equal partnership of the sexes” (268). The lack of women in the war room displays both the gender inequality in government decision making and possibly the effect of women’s ambitions being ruined by the messages sent by people like Turgidson. The women’s rights movement gained traction as the Cold War incubated several other anxiety driven movements throughout the