Thomas Franz

HIS 315L
Miller
Dr. Strangelove and Fail Safe: A Cold War analysis
At the culmination of another global war, the United States creation of a nuclear weapon
would forever alter how global conflicts would be handled. In the aftermath of the western
nations shocking hydrogen bomb, another powerhouse nation in the Soviet Union feared the
potential domination nuclear weapons could have on the world. A year later in 1953, the Soviet
Union produced their own hydrogen bomb, causing a dangerous nuclear arms race between the
two powers. The United States and Russia believed with nuclear weapons came global power,
and each wanted more power than the other. However, this competition did not come without
much condemnation from American society. The American people believed nuclear weapons
were far too risky and provided more fear than security. This anti-nuclear reaction surged
throughout the United States, especially in the film industry. Two particularly provocative films
in Dr. Strange Love and Fail Safe focused on the United States opposition of the Soviet Union
during the Cold War and the implementation of rising nuclear power. These films utilize gender
roles, paranoia, and communist hatred during the Cold War era, although not always accurate, to
persuade the audience how easy nuclear warfare can get out of hand of the system controlling it.
The year was 1964; America was at the height of the Cold War and the nation had just
avoided a scare in the Cuban Missile Crisis. This was when Stanley Kubrick released his film
Dr. Strangelove. Kubricks film is a black comedy that couples the 1960s Cold War mindset with
the outrageousness of nuclear destruction. Within the plot, the film touches on many themes
relating to the culture and politics of the Cold War era. Because of the satirical foundation of the

film, these themes are over-exaggerated in order to convey a strong anti-nuclear war message.
Exceptionally evident is the role of gender politics. Women are treated as children and are
deemed only useful as sex objects. General Ripper, an insane United State Air Force general,
even goes as far to imply that Womens motives cannot be trusted and are only essential for the
survival of mankind. The only woman in the movie, Miss Scott, is constantly belittled by men as
they show their disrespect for women. The treatment of women in Dr. Strangelove, however, is
significantly inflated compared to the changing roles of women during the Cold War. In the
1950s to the 1960s, women were starting to see more respect as they transferred from the
household to the workplace. Moreover, women were more frequently graduating college and
demanding respect and equality. Dr. Strangeloves satire served to exaggerate over gender roles
to emphasize the absurdity of the characters dealing with the nuclear crisis. Kubrick used this
absurdity to evoke distrust in Americas nuclear weapons plan during the Cold War.
Another Cold War film with a more serious approach is Sidney Lumets Fail Safe.
Released in the same year as Kubricks Dr. Strangelove, Lumets film went more in-depth on the
relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War era.
Throughout the Cold War, the relationship between both nations was mostly built on paranoia.
This was a result of being on the fringe of war for many years and not being aware of what the
other was capable of achieving. Paranoia was a central theme of the film Fail Safe. A United
States malfunction accidently sent an assembly of nuclear bombers to attack the Soviet Union.
The Soviets did not believe the President of the United States warning, being convinced the story
was a cover up for an even larger attack the United States had planned. This paranoia caused the
Soviet Union to jam the American bombers radios, making it impossible to call off the attack.
However, the paranoia was not all on the Soviet side. Americans countlessly hesitated, wasting

precious time, by believing their actions could accidently aid the Soviet Union. Many American
military personnel believed the Soviet Union was tampering with their radar to show the
bombers continuing with their attack when instead were heading back to the United States. These
feelings caused conflict with military orders even further emphasizing the crisis at hand. This
paranoia depicted throughout the film was also a reflection of the lives of Americans during the
Cold War. People were fearful that nuclear war was imminent and lived in constant fear that
bombs might drop at any time. American communities built bomb shelters, air raid sirens and
practiced bomb emergencies drills at schools. McCarthyism, the act of accusing people of
communist crimes with little to no evidence, had spread across the nation. The war against
communism was successful in building an atmosphere full of distrust and fear within Americans.
Fail Safe uses this distrust and fear to illustrate the dangers of nuclear weapons in the hands of
such fearful governments. Lumet ultimately wanted Americans to feel the United States-Soviet
Union arms race was unjust as it would eventually lead to total nuclear destruction.
Though built on very different styles, nationalism is countlessly addressed throughout Dr.
Strangelove and Fail Safe. These films deeply illustrate the United States attitudes towards
communism through the characters emotion. In Dr. Strangelove, General Turgidson, a zany
military advisor to the president, uses phrases big fat Commie rat and ignorant peons to
describe communist Soviet Union. Furthermore, General Ripper calls a private nuclear attack on
the Soviet Union to rid the world of communism. In Fail Safe, Professor Groteschele explains
how the Soviets are Marxist fanatics, not normal people. Theyre not motivated by human
emotions; they are calculating machines. This disgust for communism is effective in portraying
a key theme in Dr. Strangelove, that Americans strong communist hatred is too dangerous for
the safe keeping of large amounts of nuclear weapons. To make this message evident, Kubrick

chose coldblooded, hardnosed communist haters in his characters. On the other hand, characters
in Fail Safe were not as radical, as Lumet took a less satirical approach in conveying his anti-war
theme. Fail Safe more accurately depicts the attitudes of Americans in the Cold War era than the
overblown characters in Dr. Strangleove. During the Red Scare, many Americans in the 1950s
wanted to deal with communism in a more passive manner after concluding devastating World
War II. This caused Americans to support less violent anti-communist policies like the Marshall
Plan, which helped rebuild Western Europe economies that were vulnerable to communism, and
President Trumans Loyalty Order, an executive order establishing loyalty review boards that
fired and disbanded Communist sympathizing people and organizations. When the United States
did attempt to use violence to extinguish communism in Vietnam, it was met with domestic
rioting from many Americans against the war. While Dr. Strangelove used satirical hatred against
communism to convey Kubricks message, Fail Safe utilizes a more truthful approach as the bulk
of Americans favored peaceful actions compared to the outright destruction of the communistic
Soviet Union.
Dr. Strangelove and Fail Safe both portray many Cold War aspects from gender-based
prejudice to the paranoia of the unknown to the abhorrence of communist ideals. The themes of
the satirical Dr. Strangelove are exaggerated and twisted, and in turn, are off base from the real
feelings during the Cold War. On the other hand, Fail Safe uses the themes more accurately,
appealing to the realism of the Cold War. Overall, the purpose of these films is to highlight the
risks of nuclear weapons, using Cold War characteristics, to persuade the audience against the
continuing development and research of nuclear weapons.