My father is stronger than yours

Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” is a popular film known for its satirical examination of the Cold war. Various aspects of the film like the name of the characters, the visual elements, and the auditory components contribute to the depiction of the irrelevance of the war and the male ego. In other words, the conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States in the film is turned into a silly “my father is stronger than yours” type of conflict.

As mentioned, Kubrick plays with the names of the characters wisely to reinforce the idea of the male ego. His choice also allows to understand the true nature of each character. For example, the Air Force General, who is a strong believer in conspiracy theories and inhabited by an irrational fear of communists, is named Jack Ripper. During the movie, one can see him sending an alert to launch a destructive hydrogen bomb on the Soviet territory during one of his psychotic breaks. An evident parallel can be made between the General and Jack the Ripper, the unidentified serial killer whose victims were exclusively women. The General can, therefore, be associated with the violent destruction of human life and even toxic masculinity. Another example would be the General “Buck” Turgidson. The childish and loud character is associated with the word “turgid” which is often used to qualify an erection since, in medical terms, the adjective is used to describe a swollen organ or living tissue. Again, the General’s name represents in a sense the greatness and the strongness of masculinity. In Brief, the Generals’ names along with the names of the other characters of the film such as Mandrake, T.J. King Kong and President Merkin Muffley all relate to the male ego in a different way.

The name of Dr. “Strangelove” is certainly the most significant and more meaningful one. Indeed, the character shows a special affection for the doomsday machine; a weapon that has the potential to wipe life off of Earth. As his name indicates, it is pretty odd to show any kind of love for an invention that has the potential to create an apocalyptic world. As the second part of the title of the movie indicates “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb”— Dr. Strangelove and the other characters do not fear the bomb and even love the idea of possessing one. The name “Strangelove” is not only significant for the character, but also for the entire film as multiple strange “loves” are present. For example, when the president of the United States calls the president of the Soviet Union to announce to him that there has been a problem with the hydrogen bomb and that his country is soon going to be destroyed by it, both presidents share a friendly relationship. Both characters show an unconventional exchange where they seem to love hating and taunting each other like old friends. Their principal conflict about who had the bigger bomb turn into an even sillier one where the characters are arguing about which one of them likes the other one the most or which one of them is more upset. In short, the name “Strangelove” is not only meant to characterize the doctor, but also to bring a certain perspective to the love-hate relationships of the characters.

Some of the visual aspects of the movie also have an importance in the critical purpose of the piece. For instance, multiple images of massive missiles are in fact phallic imagery criticizing the male ego. Being composed of a majority of men, the film depicts virile characters who seem to be fighting over “who has the biggest rocket” and forgetting the true nature of their conflict. The critic of the male ego and phallic imagery is also seen in the shots of General Ripper as he is often seen from below with a long cigar in his mouth making him look tall and powerful. Other meaningful visual tropes are the two greetings written on the rocket. One of them has the greeting “Dear John”, which is known to be a letter from a woman addressed to a soldier to end their relationship. In this situation, the “Dear John” on the rocket also signifies the end of a relationship, but in a more drastic way. On the second rocket, the friendly greeting “Hi there” is ironically used on the weapon. In, summary, the visual tropes of the film are used as a tool for the criticism of the male ego and the irrelevance of extreme violence and destruction in the conflict.

Finally, the movie ends with bombing clips accompanied by a joyful song. The last images with the music show the detachment of men from the war and its victims. The movie could ironically look like it has a happy ending because of the music, but it is, in fact, ending on the destructive effect of the war, again questioning the relevance of the conflict driven by the male ego.

Works Cited

“Dear John Letter, | Definition of Dear John Letter in US English by Oxford Dictionaries.” Oxford Dictionaries | English, Oxford Dictionaries, en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/Dear_John_letter.

 “Dr. Strangelove, Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb (1964).” Most Influential, Significant and Important Films in American Cinema – The 1960s, www.filmsite.org/drst.html.

 “The Victims of Jack the Ripper.” The History Press, www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/the-victims-of-jack-the-ripper/.

“TURGID | Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary.” Cambridge Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2019.