“Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!” Most famously quoted from the movie Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, this black and white satiric film produced and co-written by Stanley Kubrick in 1964, is a prime example of Kenneth Waltz’s Realist theories in regards to International theory.
The realism that will be the focus of this paper is that of Kenneth Waltz. Kenneth Waltz presents his theory of realism, within an international system, by offering his central myth that, “Anarchy is the permissive cause of war”. Kenneth Waltz’s central myth helps answer the question as to why war happens in the first place. During the cold war, there was a heightened sense of insecurity between Russia and the United States due to presence of nuclear weapons. The Movie Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb used cold war tension between the two countries to tell the story of a general who went crazy and decided to unleash his fleet of nuclear bombers onto Russian military bases.
The film tells the story of a deranged United States Air Force general who orders a first strike nuclear attack on the Soviet Union. United States Air Force Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper who was the commander of Burpelson Air Force Base, launches a planed nuclear attack on the Soviet Union via his nuclear-armed B-52 fighter jets, which were holding at their fail-safe points, to move into Soviet airspace, based upon a twisted paranoia that the communist party was contaminating “our precious bodily fluids”. The movie follows the course of events proceeding General Jack D. Ripper’s ordered attack.
In Kenneth Waltz’s book called Man, the State and War he attempted to show how realist pr...
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...r and interactions among super powers. Through Kenneth Waltz’s IR theory of realism, it becomes easier to understand the dynamics and motivations behind the characters actions.
Works Cited
Dr. Strangelove, Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
Dir. Stanley Kubrick. Prod. Stanley Kubrick, Victor Lyndon, and Ken Adam. By Stanley Kubrick, Terry Southern, Peter George, Gilbert Taylor, Anthony Harvey, and Laurie Johnson. Perf. Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens, and James Earl Jones. BLC, 1963. DVD.
Waltz, Kenneth Neal. Man, the State and War: a Theoretical Analysis. Columbia U.P.; Oxford
U.P, 1959. Print.
Waltz, Kenneth Neal. Theory of International Politics. Boston, MA:
McGraw-Hill, 1979. Print.
Weber, Cynthia. International Relations Theory: a Critical Introduction. London:
Routledge, 2010. Print.
Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Directed by Stanley Kubrick. Columbia Pictures, 1964.
Many of the elements of the 2004 remake have been modernized. While the original movie placed the soldiers in Korea, the remake placed them in Kuwait. Demme did changed the location of the war, in order to appeal to current fears and suspicions. In 1962, the threat of communism was at the forefront of everyone’s thoughts. However, during 2004, only three years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, citizens were no longer concerned about communists, but rather about the Middle East. If Demme did not change the setting to Kuwait, the movie would not instill the same fear as it did in the original movie, “by outfitting the superbly insinuating basic story with a battery of up-to-the-minute concerns that readily feed on present fears and suspicions, Demme... inject[s] new life into a recently dormant genre - the paranoid thriller” (McCarthy). Raymond Shaw’s mother, Eleanor, was also given a more modern job in the remake; instead of merely being the wife of the senator who leads behind the scenes, in the remake she is the one who is the senator. Her role depicts the emerging role of women in modern politics. Demme also chose to give Major Marco’s girlfriend, Rosie, a more modern and important job as an FBI agent. By modernizing the film, Demme allows the contemporary audience to be able to better relate and understand the film.
Kubrick came across the novel Red Alert, and instead of deciding to make the work into a film that tackled the notion of nuclear war in a serious manner, he chose to make the film a satire. This was immensely risky. Only two years after the conclusion of the Cuban Missile Crisis, which nearly plunged the world into a nuclear holocaust, as the topic of nuclear war as a film subject, let alone a satire, was considered taboo and by no means socially ac...
The whole premise of the film is based on insubordination committed by General Jack D. Ripper. Named after the infamous serial killer of prostitutes, General Ripper claims his “loss of essence” is because of the Communist’s use of water fluoridation, a completely off-base theory by the general to explain his impotency , and uses his military status to start a cataclysmic nuclear war with Russia. This in itself is comical because that inane and inherent need to dominate and prove both physical and sexual prowess seems to exist solely in males and in Kubrick’s eyes serves as an origin for this unwarranted war between two overly capable countries. The cigar, machinegun, and pistol that Ge...
Jones, Peter G, War and the Novelist: Appraising the American war Novel. University of Missouri Press, 1976. 5-6. Rpt. in Literary Themes for Students, War and Peace. Ed. Anne Marie Hacht. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2006. 449-450. Print.
Realism can be described as a theoretical approach used to analyze all international relations as the relation of states engaged in power (Baylis, Owens, Smith, 100). Although realism cannot accommodate non-state actors within its analysis. There are three types of realism which include classical (human
The possible employment of nuclear weapons between the two superpowers during the Cold War was unprecedented. The power of this stalemate shattered the paradigm of warfare and demonstrated how significant this military revolution’s effects were even at the mere threat of nuclear weapons use. Regarding this standoff between t...
Carl von Clausewitz, “What is War?” On War. Edited and translated by Michael Howard and Peter Paret, 89-112. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1976.
This movie follows the fictional Dr. Strangelove and the US president as they struggle to avoid all out nuclear war with the Soviet Union, along with also avoiding the dreaded Soviet Doomsday Device. The countdown begins when General Ripper, who is afraid that adding florid to US water supplies is a soviet plot, calls for a all out nuclear strike on the soviet union and he is the only man who can recall it. The main argument made in this film is how the largely absurd Red Scare after World War 2 looks when viewed in a comedic way. Not only does this film highlight the Red Scare but other “hot topics” of the time, including: Fluoridation of US waters, US use of Nazi Scientists and movies sexualization of the time.
The Cold War historiography, specifically the issue of nuclear deterrence has provided historians the classic dialectic of an original thesis that is challenged by an antithesis. Both then emerge in the resolution of a new synthesis. Unfortunately, each evolution of a new synthesis is quickly demolished with each political crisis and technological advance during the Cold War narrative. The traditional/orthodox views were often challenged by the conventional wisdom with the creation of synthesis or post revisionism. There appears to be a multiple historiographical trends on nuclear deterrence over the Cold War; each were dependent and shaped upon international events and technological developments. I have identified four major trends: the orthodox, the revisionist, the post revisionist, st and the New Left. Each of these different historical approaches had its proponents and opponents, both in the military as well as the political and
In order for countries to cohesively overcome international barriers, frameworks of ideal political standards must be established. Two of these frameworks constantly discussed in international relations are the theories of Neo-realism and Liberalism; two theories with their own outlook at the way politicians should govern their country as well as how they should deal with others. Neo-realism lies on the structural level, emphasizing on anarchy and the balance of power as a dominant factor in order to maintain hierarchy in international affairs. In contrast, Liberalism's beliefs are more permissive, focusing on the establishments of international organizations, democracy, and trade as links to strengthen the chain of peace amongst countries. Liberalism provides a theory that predominantly explains how states can collaborate in order to promote global peace; however, as wars have been analyzed, for example World War II, the causes of them are better explained by Neo-realist beliefs on the balance of power and states acting as unitary actors. Thus, looking out for their own self interest and security.
In International Relations it is commonly accepted that there is a wide range of different theoretical approaches which attempt to provide an explanation for the different dynamics of the global political system. Realism and Liberalism are well known theories which are considered to be two of the most important theories in international relations. They are two contrasting ideas when it comes to explaining how two states relate to each other in the absence of a world government. Both theories agree that the world is in anarchy and therefore it is helpful to start with a definition of anarchy and what it implies. This essay aims to discuss the contrasts between Liberalism and Realism as well as how these two theories agree that the world is anarchy.
1980. Warner Bros. Directed by Stanley Kubrick. Music by Wendy Carlos and Rcachel Elkind. Cinematography by John Alcott. Editing by Ray Lovejoy. With Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd.
Classical realism originates from the ancient times of the Greek empires. This theory in international relations has dominated the sphere and the conception of world politics for centuries. Classical realists such as Morgenthau and Thucydides outline different factors in explaining politics at all levels and emphasize that politics is described throughout the theory of classical realism. Like every theory in international relations, classical realism has strengths and weaknesses that define its impact in the international level. In our current age of diplomacy, classical realism is not a common theory in current international politics. Although it is not as relevant as it has been in the past, there is potential for classical
The Cuban Missile Crisis exhibits the struggle for power between the two dominant powers of the time. The realist theory believes that world politics is a repetitive struggle for power and or influence. Power, in politics is largely perceived as influence and military capability. Power in mass amounts are located in objects such as nuclear missiles that have an immense influence on others. (Schmidt, 2007; Sterling-Folker & Shinko, 2007). This is clearly depicted through the actions taken by both leaders, as the simple placement of a missile had such a tremendous effect.