Dr. Strangelove Movie Analysis Example

The Cold War was a period in time where the two superpowers of the world, the United States and the Soviet Union came out of World War 2 with constant tension. The film “Dr. Strangelove”, directed by Stanley Kubrick, depicts some common themes in a satirical tone. A highlighted theme that is mentionable is sexism and the stereotype surrounded by women in war. In Kubrick’s film he acknowledges women in a comedic fashion, being one of Kubrick’s targets to show the standardization of war aligned with the objectified type of woman.

For starters, the only woman shown in the film is immediately sexualized from the start. Also notice how there is only one woman during the time frame? Kubrick shows women in Playboy magazines, pictures of women in crew members' safes, and the part that stood out the most was General Turgidson’s secretary. Miss Scott was her name and she was also General Turgidson’s lover as well as the women in the photos of the members’ safes are all posing half naked. Miss Scott herself is in a tight bikini with heels and a light tan. This is how secretary's dress? Watching the film it comes to one that she is his secretary but as the phone starts ringing she has to ask if she can answer it. Kubrick is satirizing that women need men’s approval and she cannot think for herself. When Miss Scott proceeds to answer the call she talks in a slow sexual tone. She continues to speak to another genrl in this tone until eventually General Turgidson ends the call. After the call is ended, he asks her “where are my shorts honey” she replies with “on the floor, where are you going” then Turgidson responds with “oh no where” (Kubrick). This is depicting that he feels his own love does not need to know where he is.Following that conversation, Miss Scott slightly remarks how she is not sleepy yet. General says “I know how it is, baby” (Kubrick). In this scene, Kubrick is satirizing how women are only needed for sexual amusement of men’s needs.

While watching “Dr. Strangelove” it allowed me to look through a different lens and see that typecasting women need to be more talked about. Yes, this is satire, however, why is the woman in the satire seen this way? "Women have been considered too much as women, and not enough as human being”, Snodgrass states in her article “Streotyping and Feminist Literature.” This is true in “Dr. Strangelove” as Miss Scott is not seen as a human in her own skin, but as a prop almost just to satisfy the General’s needs. Stereotyping should be taught more throughout the world, but not just in school. The media plays a huge part in society today where millions of people watch the news, movies, shows, etc. If these channels keep providing objectifying material of women then the younger generations are going to think that is how society is. They will grow up with that mentality which then will lead to their offspring and so on and so forth. The spiral will never end and the importance of this knowledge will die off. 

By looking through some research it surprises me how Kurbick actually does satirize women since he has been surrounded by them all his life. Christiane Kubrick, his wife, states in a New York Times article called “What They Say About Stanley Kubrick, “He liked working with women and worked with them very successfully. He was surrounded by women at home, nothing but daughters, and he employed quite a lot of women. He had an absolute angel of a mother -- extraordinarily nice woman -- very smart and very sweet” (Bogdanovich). Did his family take offense to his work? Maybe his motivation towards stereotyping women was because of how he grew up and was taught, since, during the war effort women in combat were unlikely. It is as if all of the women around him were to provide him with anything he wanted.