What I Learned Since I Stopped Worrying and Studied the Movie: A Teaching Guide to Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove

Abstract

IntroductionJohn Pike, former director of space policy at the Federation of American Scientists, once said to me: “Everything there is to know about nuclear strategy can be learned from Dr. Strangelove.” “Everything” is only a mild overstatement. I show Dr. Strangelove annually to Notre Dame audiences to teach about nuclear war, and I will continue to do so until nuclear weapons and war itself are no longer problems. The film offers lessons about war, politics, and history and can serve as a teaching aid for classes in introductory international relations, foreign policy, defense policy, causes of war, organizational politics, and Cold War history.Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worying and Love the Bomb, screenplay by Stanley Kubrick, Peter George, and Terry Southern. Produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick. Based on the book by Peter Bryant (a pseudonym for Peter George), Red Alert (New York: Ace Books, 1958). The British title for Red Alert was Two Hours to Doom. The book based on the screenplay is: Peter George, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (New York: Bantam Books, 1963. Published January, 1964). The film was scheduled for release on December 12, 1963, but was not shown until January 1964 due to President Kennedy's assassination in November 1963. Ed. note: when talking about Dr. Strangelove, the film, the title is italicized. The character Dr. Strangelove is not italicized. A longer version of this guide is available via: .

Making Politics Palatable: Using Television Drama in High School Civics and Government Classes

“…Admittedly, literature advocating the use of film in nonhistory disciplines is sparse (e.g. Beavers 2002; Kuzma and Haney 2001;Leet and Houser 2003;Lindley 2001;Mathews 2009; Serey 1992; Sunderland, Rothermel, and Lusk 2009); however, we believe this is related more to the general emphasis placed on history within most states' social studies curricula than problematic aspects of using film in other disciplines (Fallace 2008;Niemi and Smith 2001).…”

Movies to the Rescue: Keeping the Cold War Relevant for Twenty-First-Century Students

“…Using movies or other forms of active-learning techniques, including simulations, role-plays, and games, is not new to political science as others acknowledge (Boyer 2002;Engert and Spencer 2009;Gregg 1998;Kuzma and Haney 2001;Lindley 2001;Simpson and Kaussler 2009;Sunderland, Rothermel, and Lusk 2009;Webber 2005;Weber 2001Weber , 2009. What is important here, however, is to establish the reason educators find it beneficial to rely on these types of teaching techniques.…”

“…Of course, another excellent film that captures many of the same core concepts we aim to have students evaluate is the classic Cold War satire Dr. Strangelove. Dan Lindley (2001) in his article, ''What I Learned Since I Stopped Worrying and Studied the Movie: A Teaching Guide to Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove,'' extensively discusses how this film illustrates many of the core concepts associated with the Cold War. While we see tremendous value in having students be exposed to classic films from earlier periods, such as Dr. Strangelove, we wanted to use movies with actors our students would most likely recognize, thinking that this would better ''engage'' them in the activity.…”

Active Learning across Borders: Lessons from an Interactive Workshop in Brazil

“…The session then focused on the use of film and video, probably the most widely used form of popular culture for teaching international relations (Gregg 1998; Kiasatpour 1999; Lindley 2001; Weber 2001, 2005; Pollard 2002; Waalkes 2003). We discussed how some instructors have built their classes completely around movies, while many others have used films to supplement their courses (Haney 2000; Kuzma and Haney 2001).…”