Although Stanley Kubrick's Doctor Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, was released in the midst of the disappointing Cold War, critics were enthusiastic to praise the film for its mastery of humor applied to such a sensitive issue. The film is extremely loaded with metaphors, allusions and innuendos that nothing can be left unanalysed or taken at face value; the resulting effect is believed to be part of Kubrick's multifaceted theme. Kubrick said that what began as “the basis for a serious film about an accidental war” eventually gave birth to an absurd and slapstick classic comedy. The director blends together irony, satire and dark humor to create a quirky piece, but above all the situation of the time and its gravity are the essence of what the audience finds so funny. Using caricatures rather than characters, exaggerated scripting, and sexual undertones, Kubrick makes his audience aware of his own predicament and how ridiculous it is to even consider brinkmanship as a means of preserving the American way of life. The entire 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 that his "loss of essence" is due to the Communists' use of water fluoridation, a completely flawed theory of the General's to explain his impotence, and uses his military status to launch a catastrophic nuclear war operation with Russia. This in itself is comical because that unhealthy, innate need to dominate and demonstrate one's physical and sexual prowess seems to exist exclusively in males and in Kubrick's eyes serves as the origin for this unjustified war between two overly capable countries. The cigar, the machine gun and the pistol that Ge...... middle of paper .......filmsite.org/drst.html>.Kagan, Norman. Stanley Kubrick's cinema. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1972. Print.Lindley, Dan. “Lindley: A Study Guide to Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove.” University of Notre Dame. September 8, 2009. Web. November 30, 2011. .Macklin, Tony. "Sex and Dr. Strangelove: Film Review: by Tony Macklin at Tonymacklin.net." Tony Macklin - Film, fiction and more. Film Commentary, June 1, 1965. Web. November 30, 2011. Nelson, Thomas Allen. Kubrick, in the labyrinth of a cinematographic artist. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 2000. Print. "The Funniest Satire - Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb - Epinions.com." Reviews from Epinions. Network. November 30. 2011. .