The story of "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" was adapted from the novel "Red Alert" by Peter George. During World War II, George served as an intelligence officer for the Royal Air Force. It is said that someone once dropped his coffee cup on the floor when a US B-47 roared overhead at an air base. And somebody said, "You know, that's the way World War III's going to start,” which gave George inspiration. He wrote "Red Alert" in three weeks.
The movie made fun of nuclear deterrence back then, but unexpectedly, two years after the film's completion, the original author George himself died from fear of nuclear war in June 1966. Since the literary achievement of the novel itself was not very high, the movie "Dr. Strangelove" became the only evidence for us to remember this visionary.
Background
In the 1960s, the Cold War suddenly intensified, and events such as the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the spectre of nuclear destruction from the background of people's lives to the forefront. Western science fiction disaster films that reflected nuclear anxiety began to lose their animal allegory masks of the 1950s and appeared as menacing realities.
There was "On the Beach" (1959), followed by the documentary-style "The War Game" (1965), and there was also "Fail-Safe" (1964). At that time, Kubrick had been studying and preparing for a film about nuclear deterrence for more than three years.
Once upon a time, the American economist Thomas Schelling read the novel “Red Alert” and thought it was an excellent example of a fictional depiction of a nuclear accident. He wrote an article about the novel in the journal, which happened to be read by Stanley Kubrick. The two immediately got in touch and negotiated the film rights with Peter George.
“Red Alert” is a serious story, but Kubrick found that due to the inherent non-logic and absurdity of the "nuclear deterrence" theme, the movie could not be made into a straight drama. It finally became the third funniest movie on the American Film Institute's "100 Years of Best" list in its current black comedy form. However, because of the heavy theme of nuclear destruction, many viewers even laughed cautiously with nervous tension and a sense of guilt, which has never been seen in the history of cinema.
Nuclear Deterrence
John Pike, a leading figure in the American Scientific Alliance for Space Strategy, International Security, and Military Analysis, once said, "Everything you need to know about nuclear strategy can be learned from 'Dr. Strangelove'." This is why the movie has become a textbook in international politics and nuclear strategy studies at universities, as it perfectly portrays the important yet absurd logic of nuclear deterrence.
Why does a commanding officer at an air force base have the power to issue a nuclear attack order and control the fate of the Earth? On the other hand, why is the Soviet Union's "Doomsday Device" fully automatic and impossible to change due to human factors? "Dr. Strangelove" demonstrates the inevitable corruption of nuclear deterrence logic from two aspects. The core of nuclear strategy is "nuclear deterrence." What is "deterrence"? Dr. Strangelove explains it at the end of the film:
"Deterrence is the art of inculcating in the mind of the enemy the fear to attack."
Deterrence is an "art" not a "science," it requires a sense of "fear," and fear needs to be effectively conveyed to the minds of the enemies you want to deter in order to be ignited, otherwise deterrence does not exist. The so-called "Doomsday Device" has never been fully realized in reality, but as Dr. Strangelove said, it is entirely possible in terms of technology. It highly embodies the nuclear deterrence strategy of the United States and the Soviet Union at that time, known as Mutual Assured Destruction, abbreviated as MAD, which happens to be the same as the word "madness." Mad and wonderful things often involve logical loops, and nuclear deterrence is no exception.
In order to feel secure, to be superior, or to catch up, you have to desperately create nuclear weapons; if the MAD state is achieved, commonly referred to as "nuclear balance," then using nuclear weapons becomes illogical because whoever attacks first will face devastating retaliation. And if anyone is attacked first, their retaliation becomes meaningless because everyone is already gone, who would still have the intention to retaliate?
On the other hand, in a situation where there is a genuine escalOn the other hand, in a situation where there is a genuine escalation of conventional conflict, human rationality can become trapped in logical obstacles when making decisions about nuclear strikes. As a result, versions of nuclear strategy theory must also be upgraded. This inevitably introduces irrational, inhumane, or uncertain factors to continue improving the effectiveness of "nuclear deterrence." In this way, we have a logical or illogical need for an attack system that is not centralized and does not have a unified command. This is why a small air force base commander can initiate a nuclear war. There are also automatic detonation systems that cannot be controlled manually at all, known as "doomsday devices." Giving up control of nuclear weapons to computers, various sensors, and any base commander is necessary to ensure the effectiveness of nuclear deterrence at all times and in all places.
This illogical and crazy outcome becomes the logical next step in nuclear deterrence strategy. Although the Soviet Union did not create a doomsday device during that time, they could have indeed been inspired by discussions in The New York Times, just like the Russian ambassador in the movie. And indeed, throughout Europe, there were air force commanders who could launch a nuclear war at will. Dr. Strangelove said that this is the essence of the nuclear deterrence concept, allowing everyone to always teeter on the edge between rationality and irrationality, fearing to make any rash moves.
However, man proposes but God disposes. A commander launched an attack, throwing all politics and diplomacy out of the window: "War is too important to leave for politicians." On the other side, before they could even notify the world, they had already reached MAD status. On top of these hair-raising "human error factors," we also have Major T. J. "King" Kong," the cowboy pilot, who is well-trained, brave, and tenacious. He leads a group of outstanding representatives from various ethnic groups, with fearless American heroism and indomitable Texas cowboy spirit - he really doesn't know what he's doing - finally making the world move steadily towards destruction in an irreversible direction.
Dr. Strangelove & His Disobedient Right Hand
Now we can delve into the question that many people forget to ask or are hesitant to fully explain when asked: why is this movie named after a seemingly insignificant supporting character, "Dr. Strangelove," who only appears at the end? And what does the long and peculiar second half of the film's title mean: Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb?
This is a story about "strange love," and the ultimate embodiment of this strange love is none other than "Dr. Strangelove." He is not just an ordinary "supporting character," but rather a synthesis of all the characters. Peeling back the veil of Cold War and nuclear deterrence, "Dr. Strangelove" shares a similar ending with Kubrick's later film “2001: A Space Odyssey," as well as the same deep underlying theme: rational beings designed machines, which then operated perfectly according to rational logic, ultimately leading to humanity's destruction.
"Dr. Strangelove" is the embodiment of mad rationality. When the code is finally broken and most of the planes have been recalled, there is cheering in the war room as the general whistles and leads everyone in thanking God. Meanwhile, Dr. Strangelove remains silent in the darkness like a crouching ghost, temporarily stepping out of the spotlight but also seeming ready to pounce back at any moment. When he realizes that nuclear destruction is inevitable, he quickly returns to the center of attention, not only calculating how long it will take for radiation to dissipate but also eagerly proposing his brilliant post-apocalyptic survival plan.
The character of "Dr. Strange" is based on the life of American rocket expert Wernher von Braun (father of the V-2 missile in Nazi Germany), combined with the accent, curly hair, and thoughts of former Secretary of State Dr. Kissinger. The "Brandt Company" he works for, of course, refers to the American senior think tank "RAND" group. Dr. Strange always wears sunglasses and has a pale face with a tense smile in the dark, making people shudder like an evil Satan.
He can make a speech so undeniably, but he cannot control his right hand. The hand hidden in the black glove twitches nervously, trying to hold his cigarette, choke him, and constantly raise it to perform the Nazi death salute, revealing his past.
The word "arm," also means weapon or military equipment. After Dr. Strange completely defeated his right hand with his left, he suddenly stood up from his wheelchair with excitement under the impact of the world's destruction wave. He rushed forward like Frankenstein and joyfully shouted in German, not "My God, I can walk!" but "Mein Fuhrer, I can walk!" This is the last line of dialogue in the film.
Four years after "Dr. Strangelove," Kubrick directed "2001: A Space Odyssey." At that time, the nuclear crisis was still looming like a sword of Damocles. So, the famous bone in "2001" that turned into a large, opaque object in space after being thrown into space was not anything else but the Earth-synchronous orbit nuclear weapons used in Star Wars. Although the global stockpile of nuclear weapons has greatly decreased now, don't forget that they are still enough to destroy several cycles of our living and dead people.
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