Dr. Strangelove is a satire

Rating: 8/10 (9 December 2011)

Dr. Strangelove is a satire aimed at the scare surrounding nuclear bomb threats which were a concern at the time the movie was filmed in 1964. The movie involves several officers in the U.S. Air force with the action being divided between the war room of the Pentagon and a nuclear-armed B-52 war plane.
The story begins with General Jack Ripper(Sterling Hayden), who is clearly not in control of his mental faculties, giving the order to a squadron of B-52 fighter jets to mount an attack on Russian soil based on paranoid thoughts he has of the Russians putting fluoride in the liquids Americans consume. His assistant, Captain Lionel Mandrack (Peter Sellers), originally thinks the orders are a drill but upon finding out the attack is truly going to take place, attempts to stop it.
Meanwhile back at the war room,President Merkin Muffley (also Peter Sellers) warns the Russian president of the impending attack that he is helpless to stop (he doesn't have the code) and they argue over insignificant things instead of focusing on the huge problem of the bomb. General Buck Turgidson(George C. Scott), who is present at the meeting, relays information about the impending attack and tries to sway the president to take his advice, which is centered on his mistrust of the Russians.
As time goes on, the war leaders call upon Dr. Strangelove (Peter Sellers again)who is the science adviser to the president and a former Nazi for recommendations on the situation. His thoughts are to hide underground with ten women to one man in order to perpetuate the world again after it is destroyed. All the men find this most agreeable.
Eventually,Captain Mandrack is able to decipher the code from some papers he comes across on General Ripper's desk and calls in a stop order to the B-52 squadrons. One bomber plane, piloted by Major King Kong (Slim Pickens),does not receive the orders and while straddling a bomb as he tries to fix a jammed cargo door, suddenly finds himself riding the bomb as it hurdles toward earth. Of course the Russians are not happy with this new development and proceed to detonate a secret doomsday bomb they have created, which in turn annihilates the world.
Dr. Strangelove makes light of a concern that most Americans keenly felt during the years of the cold war with the Russians. It was a welcome comic relief which helped people to put into perspective the fears they felt during that time. If you could laugh at it, it didn't seem as bad. Peter Sellers was very convincing in his triple role especially since I didn't even realize that he was playing the role of President Muffley too until the end of the movie. Peter Sellers played warring personalities as President Muffley and Captain Mandrack with their intense seriousness as opposed to the unfocused, goofiness of Dr. Strangelove.This contributed to the theme which focused on making light of a serious situation.
A technique that stood out in the movie was the use of motifs. At different intervals throughout the movie, the word peace would appear on posters and papers. This irony contrasted sharply with the war scenes that were going on all around them and also related to the theme by helping the viewers to understand that peace is highly desired even in the midst of all our suspicions and insecurities.
Black and white, while not always the viewer's first choice, was very effective for this film. It immersed the audience in the dark world that was war and lent itself to the satirical nature of the theme.Another darkly humorous movie is Young Frankenstein which was also filmed in black and white. Its theme focuses on making light of the fears surrounding monsters instead of war; however both films help viewers to see their fears for what they are. As long as we have fears to deal with in our lives, films such as Dr. Strangelove will come as a welcome relief. After all, laughing at our fears is not so uncommon. Often all you need to turn a tragedy into a comedy is time and a little satire.