Dr. Strangelove

A Cold War satire that leaves you cold.

The dearth of emotion that permeates Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb prevents the film from moving beyond anything more than satire. Complete stories make complete narrative arguments. They don’t skip over the personal perspective of a Main Character, and they certainly don’t leave out a meaningful bond between that Main Character and another.

The Relationship Story Throughline—the perspective that explores a growing or dissolving connection between a Main Character & an Obstacle Character—cares for the heart of a story. Without that relationship, the work fails to connect on an emotional level with its audience.

Peter Sellers was, no doubt, a genius, and the period during which the film released ripe for satire—but this lack of heart, and this lack of a personal perspective puts distance between the storyteller and the story receiver. No one cares about what happens because the Author does not provide the means with which to care.

Watch Dr. Strangelove for its historical significance—but don’t expect anything meaningful from the narrative.