Dr. Strangelove

In Kubric’s Dr. Strangelove, he presents many controversially topics regarding issues that were prevalent at the time. The way he represents his perception on the nuclear power race in the movie, is taken to the absolute extreme. Kubric states in the an interview with Grant Stillman, “The arms race is not likely to create everlasting peace… the only solution lies in the hands and hearts of man.” In Dr. Strangelove, Jack Ripper, the commanding officer at the U.S. Air force, made the executive call of “Plan-R” which is a complete annihilation of a certain country via the weapons of mass destruction, at this time it was the U.S.S.R.

This spikes major controversy because this has the potential of actually happening, especially at the time of which the movie was made. Kubric’s representation of the U.S.S.R. could also be quite conflicting. He depicts the Russian Prime Minister as a drunk, and when the president is on the phone with him, the Russian is unable to be understood and the president is kind of controlling the conversation. Also, the Russian Ambassador was admitted into the “war-room.” Upon his arrival, he is immediately accused of bringing in cameras into the room.

Another bit of controversy is the depiction of women in this film. First off, in the “war-room,” there are no women throughout the duration of the film; however, the results, of the men in the room's, actions affects them greatly. Furthermore, “Miss Scott,” the pentagon secretary, is shown laying in bed and half nude, making relations with one of the generals of the “war-room.” This same woman is shown in the cockpit of one of the fighter jets in a Playboy magazine as the centerfold. This shows that, at the time, the perception of woman is drastically different than today. Think of all the progress as mankind that we have made. Or have we?

Kubric spent along time creating the plot and possibilities for the movie. He took many articles of the New York Times and Time Magazine, of current issues during the time, chopped them up, borrowed bits and pieces and wrote a creative/comedic screenplay. Kubric quotes, “After a month or so I began to realize that all the things that I was throwing out were the things that were the most truthful.” This is very ironic, due to all of his recent research in that time’s society. You would think that he would use much of the collected information especially if the information is controversial. Kubric also takes a path with this film that allows a lot of room for self-assessment. As the viewer, we can come to many conclusions and make up, possibly, an entirely different conclusion than what Kubric had expected. He mentions, “If I told you [the meaning of the film] it wouldn’t be ambiguous… and if you don’t discover it yourself, it won’t mean anything anyway.” This brings up a good point, is this the reason most author’s don’t reveal the film’s they create true identity? So the viewer can come up with better conclusions than what they, the writer, had even originally intended.