Gender in Dr. Strangelove Stanley Thesis

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The 1964 film Dr. Strangelove uses the context of Cold War brinksmanship in order to uncover a more fundamental problem with patriarchy and the maintenance of a destructive masculinity. This masculinity is under threat as a result of sexual frustration, and the characters of Ripper, Turgidson, and Kong embody three different kinds of this frustration. Ripper's sexual frustration is the most explicit, and leads to the most overtly violent reaction. Turgidson's sexual frustration is not the result of a physiological problem but rather due to pent-up energy, and thus his reaction is to cheer on the violence perpetrated by Ripper, even if he cannot engage in it himself.
Finally, Kong, who is denied the kind of sexual immediacy granted Turgidson, nonetheless is able to overcome the frustration experienced by the other two men when he finally succeeds in dropping a nuclear bomb. Thus, the film suggests that the true threat to the future of humanity is not necessarily the weapons of war themselves, but rather the violent masculinity embraced and reinforced in a patriarchal society.

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"Gender In Dr Strangelove Stanley" (2011, October 25) Retrieved May 4, 2024, from
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"Gender In Dr Strangelove Stanley" 25 October 2011. Web.4 May. 2024. <
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"Gender In Dr Strangelove Stanley", 25 October 2011, Accessed.4 May. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/gender-dr-strangelove-stanley-46850