The Film "Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb" by Stanley Kubrick

“Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” is a film by Stanley Kubrick released in 1964 that details the end of the world at the height of the cold war. The film follows a number of characters as they attempt to either aid or avoid the incoming apocalypse. The film has been praised as a cutting satire on the state of the cold war and is heavy in symbolism.

The Film begins with Two B-52 bombers refueling mid air. It is revealed that the bombers remain the the air no more than 2 hours from their targets in Russia incase of a nuclear attack on the U.S. General Ripper of Burpelson Air Force Base orders his underling , Captain Lionel Mandrake of the UK RAF, to put the base on alert. Ripper also issues "Plan R" to the patrolling aircraft, one of which is commanded by Major T. J. "King" Kong.

All of the aircraft commence an attack flight on Russia and set their radios to allow communications only through a secure connection, which is programmed to accept only communications preceded by a secret three-letter code known only to General Ripper. Mandrake discovers that no war order has been issued by the Pentagon by the presence of civilian music being played and tries to stop Ripper, who locks them both in his office. Ripper tells Mandrake that he believes the Soviets have been using the flouride in the United States’ water supplies to pollute the "bodily fluids" of Americans. Mandrake realizes that Ripper is insane.

In the War Room, General Buck Turgidson briefs President Merkin Muffley and other officers about how Plan R lets a senior officer to launch a strike against the Soviets if all other higher ups have been killed in a first strike on D.C. Turgidson reports that his men are trying every possible three-letter code to issue the stand-down order, but that could take over two days and the planes are due to reach their targets in about an hour. Muffley orders the Army chief to storm the base and arrest General Ripper.

Turgidson attempts to convince Muffley to let the attack continue, but Muffley refuses to be party to a nuclear first strike. Instead, he brings Soviet ambassador Alexei de Sadeski into the War Room, to telephone Soviet premier Dimitri Kissov on the "hot line". Muffley warns the Premier of the impending attack and offers to reveal the planes' positions and targets so the Russians can protect themselves. After a heated discussion in Russian with the Premier, the ambassador informs President Muffley that the Soviet Union has created a doomsday device, which consists of many buried bombs salted with "Cobalt-Thorium G" connected to a computer network set to detonate them automatically should any nuclear strike occur in the country.

Within two months after detonation, the Cobalt-Thorium G would encircle the earth in a radioactive "doomsday shroud", wiping out all human and animal life, rendering the surface of the earth uninhabitable for over 90 years. The device cannot be dismantled or disarmed, as it is programmed to explode if any such attempt is made. When the President's wheelchair-bound scientific advisor, former Nazi Dr. Strangelove points out that such a doomsday device would only be an effective deterrent if everyone knew about it, de Sadeski replies that the Russian Premier had planned to reveal its existence to the world the following week. Meanwhile, The U.S Army forces arrive at Burpelson, still sealed by Ripper's order, and soon take over the base.

Ripper commits suicide in his bathroom, while Mandrake finds the code on Ripper’s desk , OPE a variant of Purity of Essence, and relays this code to the Pentagon. Using the recall code, the U.S successfully recalls all of the aircraft except one. No one in the War Room knows that a surface-to-air missile has ruptured the fuel tank of Kong’s plane and destroyed its communications device, making it impossible to recall this particular plane even with the correct recall code. Muffley discloses the plane's target in an attempt to help the Soviets find it, but Major Kong, quickly running out of fuel , has selected a closer target. As the plane approaches the new target, the crew is unable to open the bomb bay doors due to damage from a Russian missile. Major Kong enters the bomb bay and repairs the broken electric wiring, opening the doors. With Kong straddling it like a rodeo bull, the bomb falls and detonates.

In the War Room, Dr. Strangelove recommends that the President gather several hundred thousand people to live in deep mineshafts where the radiation will not penetrate. He suggests a 10:1 female-to-male ratio for a breeding program to repopulate the Earth when the radiation has subsided. The War Room, who is composed entirely of men, agree quickly. Turgidson, worried that the Soviets will do the same, warns about a "mineshaft gap." Just then the doomsday device kicks into operation and the film ends with a montage of nuclear detonations.

The biggest symbolism present throughout the film is the appearance of sex or sexual themes. Most character names are puns or references to something having to do with sex or sex organs. The famous opening to the fime with the B-52s refueling is striking similar to the act of sex with one B-52 extending its fuel line into the other. The B-52’s target is also subject to this the target being named Laputa, spanish for “the Whore”. General Jack D. Ripper is of course a reference to the infamous British serial killer Jack the Ripper who was actively killing prostitutes in London in the late 1880’s.

Also worth pointing out is that General Ripper is directly responsible for the destruction of Laputa so in a way Jack D. Ripper killed “The Whore”. General Ripper also inadvertently begins the destruction of the world with his sexual impotence believing it to be a Russian sabotage attempt on the United States with the poisoning of the US’s water supply. General Buck Turgidson is a reference to a turgid or swollen erection. President Merkin Muffley name is both a reference to a pubic wig , a merkin, and a slang term for female genitalia, a “muff”.