Gender Roles In Dr Strangelove

Kubrick’s view of the Cold War is shown in his film, ‘Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb’. This anti-war film depicts the stupidity of nuclear war, and the constant fear the Americans had about the spread of communism to the West, all through a sarcastic undertone. International politics, gender roles, and the portrayal of communication (or lack of) are recurring themes in the film. The American ideal of being the triumphant underdog is historically rooted and represented by the crew of the B-52. The bomber’s crewmembers accurately symbolize the diversity of the United States. Just like all military persons, they share a close-knit bond with each other that can be observed when they receive their orders. Major …show more content…
Strangelove’ are hard to miss. Women are considered sex objects for the men in the film. So, it is suitable that there is only one woman (General Turgidson’s secretary, Ms. Scott). She only appears in the opening scene, and is shown wearing a bikini and high heels while Turgidson is in the restroom. Ms. Scott picks up the telephone at the General’s place and relays the information to him. She recognizes the caller (apparently she is someone else's girl too), and when the General shows up, he speaks to her like a child. "I deeply respect you as a human being. Someday I'm going to make you Mrs. General Buck Turgidson" …show more content…
A lot of the discussion takes place over the telephone or radio. Ripper's initial request to have Group Captain Mandrake issue the go code to the B-52 is over the telephone. Then, Ripper tells everyone on base to get rid of their radios because the Soviets will use them to spread propaganda. The airplanes flying at their fail-safe points receive their orders of attack by way of a three-letter code. This is the first major issue involving communication. No one knows the code, but General Ripper. He is the only person who can call off the attack and get the bombers to fly back to America without attacking the Soviet Union. The opening scene of the film is the only telephone conversation that is not one sided. Other than that scene, all conversations on the telephone are from one person’s point of view only. When Turidson’s secretary picks up the telephone, she acts as the mediator amongst the two parties involved. She constantly changes what the person is saying. The wording is similar, but the inflection is entirely dissimilar. This is an additional issue with