ť (1).
Despite Dr. Strangelove satirizing these institutionally constructed policies, it offers many examples of how politicians, military personnel and the media try to construct a “culture of security” by normalizing war and violence. This is easy to do because by parodying these actions they become all the more obvious than the often subtle and pernicious ways they operate in reality. For example, the film was initially delayed from release because of President Kennedy’s assassination. Nevertheless, because the film shows America vulnerable to Soviet attack, a disclaimer was run prior to the film’s screening in theaters that began, “It is the stated position of the United States Air Force that their safeguards would prevent the occurrence of such events as are depicted in this film” (Kubrick). Yet, even though the film satirizes military machismo and ideological fear and paranoia, there are multiple examples of how politicians, the military and the media normalize war and violence. For example, at Burpelson Air Base the sign on the wall reads: “Peace is our Profession” (Kubrick). We see this sign prominently featured later in the film as soldiers and guards are warned of Red Alert!
We all know that “peace” is not the profession of the military. Its mission is to secure peace through violent means, typically based on political and military ideology that wishes to promote a culture of security among the public. Politicians and military leaders often use rhetoric and empty metaphors to crouch violent terms and actions in peaceful or innocuous sounding words. In his famous essay that is as relevant today as when written, George Orwell notes this phenomenon in Politics and the English Language:
In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible...the dropping of the atom bombs on Japan, can indeed be defended, but only by arguments which are too brutal for most peopl...