5 Screenwriting Lessons- Dr Strangelove, Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Who Wrote It?

Director Stanley Kubrick wrote the script with Terry Southern and Peter George. Peter George was also the writer of “Fail Safe”, the book upon which Dr Strangelove was loosely based.

How Long is it?

Dr Strangelove is 102 minutes long, including credits.

What’s it About?

Dr Strangelove chronicles a nuclear crisis triggered by the deranged General Jack D Ripper (Played by Sterling Hayden). When Ripper orders the B-52 bombers under his command to attack Russia, the most powerful men in America gather in the “War Room” to try and sort out the ensuing crisis. They include the US President, Merkin Muffley (Played by Peter Sellers), General Buck Turgidson (Played by George C. Scott) and the wheelchair-bound ex-Nazi Dr Strangelove (Also played by Peter Sellers). Meanwhile, Ripper’s executive officer Captain Mandrake (Peter Sellers again, in his third role in the film) tries to find a way of recalling the planes, but the crew of one bomber, captained by Major “King” Kong (played by Slim Pickens) tries to carry out its mission, regardless of the obstacles or consequences.

5 Screenwriting Lessons from Dr Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

(The Following May Contain Spoilers)

Sometimes, The Audience Should be made to Feel Smarter than the Main Characters- Satirical films like Dr Strangelove rely on a (mostly) foolish set of characters to highlight their points about the flaws in our institutions. General Ripper claims that “War is too important to be left to the politicians” as they are no good at strategic thought. However, he is sending dozens of men to bomb the USSR based on a conspiracy theory that only he believes. This shows that, instead of encouraging peace, leaving war in the hands of individuals like Ripper increases the destruction caused by the conflict.

Ripper’s motive for ordering the planes to attack the Soviet Union is his belief that the fluoridation of water is part of a Communist plot “to sap and impurity all of our basic bodily fluids”. Ripper claims that he became aware of it when he experienced “A profound sense of fatigue” and “A feeling of emptiness” after having sex with a woman. The fact that Ripper takes this entirely normal sensation as proof of a communist conspiracy highlights just how distrusting he is, and just how unqualified he is to be in charge of the US military.

Incongruity Should be Everywhere – Incongruity is a key part of Dr. Strangelove. Many of the small lines and details are full of irony and subversion. Apart from the famous line “You can’t fight in here. This is the War Room!” delivered by President Muffley towards General Turgidson and the Russian Ambassador in attendance at the crisis talks, there are a number of small details and sight gags in the scene in which troops invade General Ripper’s base. Two of the signs there read “Keep off the Grass” and “Peace is Our Profession”. The orderly and formal nature of the base creates a contrast with, and therefore emphasises, the chaos unfolding inside.

Another example of incongruity highlighting the bizarre nature of the central crisis is when the nature of the Soviet Doomsday Machine is revealed. Dr Strangelove dismisses the idea that there is one currently in operation, claiming that “The whole point of the Doomsday Machine…Is lost if you keep it a secret”. However, the Soviet Ambassador confirms its existence, claiming that it would have been revealed to the world later. Keeping such a powerful deterrent secret contradicts the very purpose of having it, and demonstrates how ridiculous the posturing on both sides is.

Exaggeration Leads to Effective Satire - If you have ever used a payphone, you will be able to appreciate how inconvenient it is to be short on money. In Dr Strangelove, this is taken a step further. When General Mandrake is in that situation, he is trying to call President Muffley and tell him that he’s figured out the coded message which will make the US bombers turn back. This serves the purpose of showing how chaotic and inefficient the communication between the government and the army is, as the safety of the world ends up depending on the presence of change in a Coca-Cola Machine. By taking a trivial but relatable scenario and placing it in the middle of such an important situation, the sequence makes viewers aware of how difficult it is to solve an international crisis, especially with the threat of nuclear annihilation looming over the horizon.

Another instance in which a critical event is exaggerated in the name of satirical humour is the famous scene of Kong “Riding the bomb”, which is one of the funniest and most iconic moments in the film. The humour comes from the incongruity between the effects of the action and the way Kong treats it. When the bomb lands, it will not only obliterate him, but set off the chain of events which will render the earth uninhabitable. However, Kong is waving his hat and cheering as if he was riding a bull at a rodeo. The pleasure he takes in unleashing the bomb is a little bit unnerving, but it is so over-the-top that you cannot help but laugh.

Subvert the Established Standards - In the midst of a crisis that could spell the end of the world, you would normally expect a telephone conversation between the US President and the Soviet Premier to be formal and serious, with both sides trying to discuss the matter in a loud and aggressive manner. However, in Dr Strangelove, President Muffley’s attempts at informing his Russian counterpoint of the impending crisis represent a great example of awkward humour. Muffley begins his conversation with banal small talk (“It’s good to be fine”), then tries to explain General Ripper’s actions by claiming that “He went and did a silly thing”. By depicting the impending bombing in this way, he unintentionally makes it seem trivial and ridiculous. The understatement in this scene creates brilliant comedy, and also highlights that Muffley is out of his depth handling the crisis – a stark contrast to the prevalent image of the strong, decisive president bravely handling international disputes that became popular after Kennedy managed to diffuse the Cuban Missile Crisis (which happened whilst the film was being written).

This is not the only time that the film undermines the conventional belief that the USA is being looked after by brave and heroic people. The opening of the movie is shot and narrated like a war movie or Newsreel, invoking audience memories of the usually positive depiction of the US air force in those mediums. However, when we first see Major Kong, the government manual he appears to be reading turns out to be an issue of Playboy. This is a quick and amusing way of establishing that, in contrast to the honourable soldiers of more traditional war movies, Kong and his crew are a distinctly unheroic and ordinary lot.

Deliver the Message Effectively – Dr Strangelove aims to expose the flaws in the US government’s handling of the Cold War, which was a major concern when the movie was released in 1964. The prevalent belief in USA at the time was that neither they nor the Soviet Union would dare attack each other, because it would lead to both sides being wiped out. This idea of Mutually Assured Destruction is taken to its logical conclusion with the Soviet’s Doomsday Machine, and all it takes to set it off is a single bomber whose crew were unable to take orders telling them to go back. This highlights how fragile the peace between USA and the USSR was, and encourages viewers to consider the potential costs should the conflict escalate.

The consequences of the distrust between the two sides is highlighted at the end, as the US government considers Strangelove’s proposal for a select band of civilians to live underground for about 100 years until the radiation generated by the Doomsday machine has subsided. However, Turgidson opposes the proposal, claiming that the nuclear apocalypse will not prevent the Soviets from trying to take over their mineshafts. He is so scared of the Communists that he believes that war will continue, even when almost everyone on both sides has been destroyed. This proves how ridiculous the USA’s hatred of their enemies can be, as it continues even after its consequences have rendered the world uninhabitable.

Verdict

50 years after its initial release, Dr Strangelove still holds up as a classic satire. It’s a bit slow at times, owing to the large amount of technical terms used in the discussions of the conflict, but it is certainly worth watching in full. It is full of irony, exaggeration, subversion, stupidity (from the characters) and intelligence (from the writers), the five defining features of satire. Most importantly, it communicates its messages about the folly of the cold war effectively, with great lines, great scenes and memorable characters.