Satire is supposed to highlight the idiocies, hypocrisies and flaws of those in power using comedy, often with comedic exaggeration, to make these points and when done well, can be a powerful force in shaping public opinion. How did this film shape public opinion? It is hard to say, especially from 2025, but the Cold War did not end in nuclear armageddon, so there’s that. Moreover, any reference to nuclear weapons and nuclear war will trigger the absurdity of Dr. Strangelove in the minds of those in the audience. Politicians who wanted to increase the nuclear arsenal of America to add a few more thousand warheads would be confronted with pushback influenced by Dr. Strangelove.

Satire To Bring About Change

Don’t Look Up is a comedy written and directed by Adam McKay in which scientists discover a planet-destroying asteroid is heading towards Earth, and their struggles to be heard and when they are heard, for action to be taken. The film is shot through with criticism of the media – who at first treat the impending disaster as some kind of puff piece; incompetence in government with the president played by Meryl Streep portrayed as an idiotic, vain and selfish leader; and tech billionaires with Mark Rylance playing such a figure who wants to manipulate the situation for his own benefit and is utterly consumed by arrogance and hubris. The film is very clearly about climate change; it is not especially subtle, but it doesn’t seem like McKay was trying to be. Part of the problem of Don’t Look Up is the idea that despite the fact that the danger has been pointed out and more or less understood and accepted, nothing is being done, the message has not motivated change, and how will the film do that? Part of McKay’s solution to this seems to be simply abandoning being subtle. Did Don’t Look Up shape public opinion? This seems mixed; it was very successful but likely preaching to the converted, but one thing it did perhaps achieve by its intentional lack of subtlety was to try and drive home the drastic nature of the climate change problem.

Satire To Learn From The Past

Death of Stalin is a film by one of Britain’s greatest comedy writers and political satirists, Armando Iannucci, who has been involved in The Day Today, Alan Partridge, The Friday Night Armistice, The Thick Of It, In The Loop and Veep. The film is based on a comic loosely based on the death of Joseph Stalin and the turmoil that followed as various people tried to scheme their way to power. The Death of Stalin is not exactly trying to satirise Stalin and his government, after all he’s been dead for 70 years, but rather show the ridiculousness of power and tyranny. How the genuinely terrifying dictators are also stupid people who did stupid things. In the film, Stalin lies for hours after having a stroke with no medical assistance, despite people hearing him collapse, as they are all too scared to enter his office. And even when the other soviet leaders find him, they want to be quorate before they vote on calling a doctor, and even then…most of the medical establishment was caught in Stalin’s purges. It also shows how the seemingly invincible can be brought down spectacularly quickly. Beria, as head of the security services, was poised to take over, but instead was arrested and shot within minutes.

Satire To Bring Down The Powerful

A recent Oscar contender was The Apprentice, a satire about Donald Trump, but not President Trump, the much younger real estate businessman being mentored by right-wing demagogue Roy Cohn. Presumably, the film is a contest about who can be the most objectionable person in America. It has often been said that Trump is beyond satire, and perhaps this is why this satire didn’t focus on his recent political career but on his earlier business career. Is Trump’s political career unsuitable for satire? After all, this was a person whose right-hand man organised a press conference about how the election was “stolen” at Four Seasons Total Landscaping opposite an adult book store rather than the Four Seasons hotel. That is beyond Spinal Tap levels of ridiculous incompetence, and perhaps how every music documentary since This Is Spinal Tap has had to make sure they didn’t have a Spinal Tap moment, every filmmaker wanting to make a satire about Trump with have to wrestle with the problem of using comedic exaggeration against a man who long ago passed any imagined exaggeration. How did it shape public opinion? It will be very interesting to see how/if it does. Most people are in very definitive camps regarding Trump, but it is possible this film could successfully change how Trump’s business career is seen. His supporters will often say he is a billionaire businessman, obviously, he knows what he is doing, could this undermine the foundations of his supposed brilliance?

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It’s Not The End Of The World Is It?

In the same way, sci-fi uses the future to talk about the present post-apocalyptic films can show us what our societal anxieties and fears are, and not just in terms of the end of the world. Night of the Living Dead demonstrates the societal problems in America in terms of race, Dawn of the Dead is about consumerism as the ultimate hideout is the mall – which the zombies are drawn back to, and Day of the Dead deals with power and authority. The pre-apocalypse film Dr. Strangelove focuses in on perhaps the major fear of the time – nuclear annihilation – and that through a mixture of incompetence and mistrust, those in power would destroy the world. Dr Strangelove also gave us one of the key lines of post-apocalyptic movies, that those who survive the end of the world would “envy the dead.” The recent asteroid apocalypse movie Don’t Look Up I found genuinely unsettling despite it ostensibly being a comedy, the parallel to climate change was intentionally obvious and chilling.

Reduced To One Instinct: Survive

Some post-apocalyptic movies have been cultural touchstones about how we see the potential end of the world. The Mad Max films show a brutal world, with many people reverting to outright savagery, as fights over basic resources become all-consuming. The post-apocalyptic eccentrically dressed road barbarian has become a staple of the genre and gives a clear idea that the future will be a constant struggle. Classic British horror films 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later show perhaps not a post-apocalyptic world then certainly a post-apocalyptic UK. The handful of survivors struggle against the infected “zombies”, with creepily empty London streets serving as a backdrop for the start of the film. A feature of both films is that it’s perhaps not best to put all your faith in the military; who might have different priorities than your survival. Perhaps the bleakest film ever made is The Road, a post-apocalyptic film where you know there is zero chance of surviving. In the world of The Road it seems that every plant and animal (except humans) has died, those who are still alive survive by scavenging or resorting to truly desperate means. While the film follows a father and son it is hard to escape the conclusion that without animals or plants, there is no future. In The Road the father has a gun with two bullets, specifically held back in case they need to shoot themselves, which is about as bleak as it gets.

It’s In Your Nature To Destroy Yourselves

The Matrix was a post-apocalyptic movie where humans were kept in a simulated reality by machines, the machines putting them at the supposed height of human civilisation, in the late 1990s. Certainly, the 90s felt like a time of progress, opportunity and relative peace (at least for those in the richest countries), the Cold War was over and the threat of nuclear Armageddon receded. Since then there have been decades-long wars, pandemics, increasing evidence of a coming climate catastrophe, the AI singularity grows ever nearer and even nuclear war seems to be back on the table. So how do you make these sorts of films when people are worried about the genuine end of the world? Well, at least since the 1950s that’s the reality people have lived with, there have been genuine moments when the world was on the brink of nuclear war and somehow pulled back and people still made post-apocalyptic thrillers and comedies about this very idea. Dr Strangelove was released in 1964, two years after the Cuban Missile Crisis when everyone was terrifyingly aware of just how close to the end we had come. Evidently, there is some enjoyment to be had in watching the end of the world.

Also Read: What Does Black Mirror Still Have to Say In Season 6?

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Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln

Who should you get to play arguably the greatest ever president? Well the man who is arguably the greatest ever actor. Day-Lewis has three Best Actor Oscars, one for this very role, and it’s hard to argue with his immense talent. Lincoln is essentially a parliamentary procedural where Lincoln is desperately trying to corral enough votes to pass the Thirteenth Amendment (which makes slavery illegal) before the end of the civil war. Lincoln stands as a bulwark of decency constantly demanding that they must have this amendment even delaying peace to secure it. Day-Lewis captures Lincoln as the expert orator, the decent man and even doing things which some would consider wrong and shady political shenanigans.

Paul Giamatti as John Adams in John Adams

To non-Americans John Adams is a lesser-known president, coming straight after George Washington, but lesser-known or not Giamatti is fantastic as Adams. The HBO series follows John Adams just as a spirit of rebellion is taking hold, through his path to war and then helping make America. Giamatti’s Adams is a difficult character who does not come lightly to rebellion and has high respect for the rule of law. One of the best sections of the show is early on when as a lawyer Adams defends British soldiers who fired on and killed rioters in Boston. The amount of pressure exerted on Adams to not do this is immense but because he believes what he is doing is right he perseveres. Another great moment for Giamatti as Adams is when after achieving independence he is appointed ambassador to Britain and meets King George III, surely one of the most awkward meetings in history. The tumult of different emotions in Adams must have been incredible but Giamatti portrays it very well.

Unsurprisingly we see a number of presidents in this series – David Morse as George Washington, Stephen Dillane as Thomas Jefferson and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as John Quincy Adams as well as a number of other people pivotal in the founding of America.

Bill Murray as Franklin D. Roosevelt in Hyde Park On Hudson

Franklin D. Roosevelt, or FDR, is widely regarding as one of the great presidents of the 20th Century (not to be confused with Theodore Roosevelt, a previous president and relative of FDR, who was once shot in the chest and then proceeded to give a 90 minute speech before seeing a doctor, Robin Williams portrayed a version of Theodore Roosevelt in Night At The Museum and captured the indomitable nature of the man). He is the president who lead America out of the Great Depression and through most of The Second World War. Murray does well in capturing the peculiar character of FDR, a heavy drinking womaniser from a family with old wealth and high prestige who went to titanic lengths to provide for the tens of millions of Americans in need; a biography of FDR is titled A Traitor To His Class as many saw him as betraying the rich to help the poor. Murray’s portrayal of FDR was something of an eccentric character, with a silliness to him, all the while dealing with incredibly serious problems. Murray’s FDR always has a clever quip for every situation but also a melancholy understanding of the struggles of life.

Martin Sheen as Jed Barlett in The West Wing

Much has already been said about this presidential portrayal so this article will limit itself to saying Martin Sheen is spectacular as Jed Bartlett.

Peter Sellers as Merkin Muffley in Dr. Strangelove

Comic genius and tremendous actor Peter Sellers played three roles in Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece Dr. Strangelove – one of which was fictional president Merkin Muffley. In Dr. Strangelove the world is brought to the brink of nuclear annihilation by an unhinged American general and Muffley is trying to avert this apocalypse. Whilst Dr. Strangelove is primarily a comedy it contains many great dramatic performances and it is only the slightest twist than turns the film from a drama to a comedy. Muffley is trying to do the right thing – stopping the end of the world – whilst many of those around him are advocating they should launch an all out attack on Russia. Muffley is both close to all-powerful and impotent with the smallest of reasons derailing his attempts to stop the madness, such as a drunk Russian premier.

There are a number of memorable lines delivered by Sellers – “Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the war Room!” as the Soviet ambassador and an American general have a fist fight, and the second being the chilling “Wouldn’t this nucleus of survivors be so grief-stricken and anguished that they’d, well, envy the dead and not want to go on living?” This is paraphrasing real-life Soviet premier Nikita Krushchev who faced his own potential nuclear apocalypse said “the living will envy the dead”. The skill of Sellers to be able to move between dark humour and the existential dread of looming nuclear war is breathtaking.

Also Read: How The “War On Terror” Changed Hollywood

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Put Blood In It

Perhaps my favourite name of any film is There Will Be Blood. Not the most informative title in terms of the actual plot of the film but gives a sense of the doom that hangs over it. It’s also a hell of a promise for a film – blood implies conflict and turmoil, suffering and loss. Jamie in the film In The Loop has an extended rant about the brilliance of the name There Will Be Blood but he was disappointed at the actual lack of said fluid. Blood is a good word for a film title – Shakespeare would have been kicking himself when Kurosawa named his Macbeth adaptation Throne of Blood as it’s a far superior title and does a very good job of summing up the story. For other great “blood” titles see Blood Simple, Blood Diamond and the wonderfully named Doctor Blood’s Coffin (which I haven’t seen but can’t possibly live up to that title).

It’s an interesting decision to change the name of the source material, Philip K Dick’s titan of science-fiction Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was renamed Blade Runner (a term not even used in the novel). Both are great names but conjure very different feelings – Blade Runner sounds cool. You could argue that the original title conveyed more of what the film is about – as much as Blade Runner is cool it’s also an extended meditation on life, memory, knowledge and more and the book’s more unusual title is more suggestive of this. The aforementioned There Will Be Blood is based on the novel Oil! and both titles have their merits – for the film Paul Thomas Anderson certainly chose the right title.

It Is What It Says It Is

Some films very much have titles that say what they are, they tell you exactly what to expect – with Seven Psychopaths being one of the best. In the film, Marty is writing a screenplay with the same title and all of his friends agree it’s a great title. It seems Marty thought of this great name first and worked backwards on making a film around this name. Interestingly Marty becomes disillusioned with the name and the type of film Seven Psychopaths would inevitably be and this re-examining of the title and what film it will be lead to very interesting ideas in the film. Director Martin McDonaugh‘s other films In Bruges – which is set in Bruges, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri which is about three billboard set…well I’m sure you can work it, show his love for their naming technique.

Minor Masterpieces

Some of the most memorable titles for me are from films not in the English language. Iranian vampire western A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night is the superior riff on the idea utilised in Cabin In The Woods in that the name is so often the premise of the film. Just the titles of The Beat That My Heart Skipped and Portrait of a Lady on Fire are minor masterpieces. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is certainly a captivating title and you feel you just have to know what is going to cause the nervous breakdown.

Use As Many Words As Possible

I’m very much a fan of the long title so Dr Strangelove: Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb, which from the odd name to the absurdity of the title is intriguing. Another example of a title change – the book is called Red Alert and the change reflects the change in how the book is very much a drama but Kubrick‘s film a dark comedy. Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead is a brilliant title that also gave me an unconscious aversion to Denver before even seeing the film, as there seemed to be a suggestion that more people die in Denver than is normal.

Honourable mentions must go to If…. for daring to use ellipsis and using punctuation to make you want to pronounce it differently, as though you need to trail off while saying it and Enter The Dragon has the audacity to not only be exceptionally cool but could also be stage directions.

A lot of the time films are given placeholder names while an actual title is thought up, famously this was used for Snakes On A Plane and when the title was changed to something far duller Samuel L. Jackson asked it to be changed back. Personally, I’m not a fan of that name but that shows how hard it is to come up with a good name and one person’s genius idea is another’s terrible mistake.

Also Read: Film Ideas That Shouldn’t Work (But Do!)

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“You make me want to be a better man”

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Film: As Good As It Gets (1997)

Delivered by Melvin (Jack Nicholson) to Carol (Helen Hunt), Melvin has insulted her and she demanded a compliment and after a short speech about working on his OCD he delivered this line, suggested by @Speechyspeeches.

“Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here this is the War Room.”

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Film: Dr. Strangelove (1964)

As delivered by President Merkin Muffley (Peter Sellers) to one of his generals and the Russian ambassador fighting, a perfect line for a great anti-war satire. Put forward by @JohnErikHanson.

“You’re gonna need a bigger boat”

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Film: Jaws (1975)

Jaws, delivered by Brody (Roy Scheider) after he first gets a good glimpse at the shark, suggested by @Bracey452 and considering what happens later in the film he was right.

“In case I don’t see ya, Good Afternoon, Good Evening and Goodnight”

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Film: The Truman Show (1998)

The Truman Show, delivered by Truman (Jim Carrey) what starts as a catchphrase for a hapless dupe by the end of the film is a great cry of freedom, suggested by @sadzzilla.

“Not me. I’m in my prime.”

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Film: Tombstone (1993)

Tombstone, delivered by Doc Holliday, as @brenenshur pointed out any line by Doc Holliday deserves to be on this list but I chose the witty retort to being asked if he is retiring – it’s important to bear in mind he’s clearly dying of tuberculosis at this point (this is what I say whenever questioned about my health).

“I’m going to cut your heart out with a spoon!”

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Film: Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

Delivered by the Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Rickman), overall a terrible film that is someway redeemed by the best villain performance since Hans Gruber, picked by @KathleenKriel.

“You talkin’ to me?”

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Film: Taxi Driver (1976)

Delivered by Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) to…well, his own reflection. Really it’s his whole little monologue that shows just how far gone he is, suggested by @DongBao9.

“As you wish.”

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Film: The Princess Bride (1987)

Delivered by Westley/The Man In Black (Cary Elwes). Basically, this whole list could be quotes from this film but I went with this one (as did @kredenbarger) for meaning so much using so few words.

“I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”

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Film: Apocalypse Now (1979)

Delivered by Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore (Robert Duvall) as suggested by @fraulot. An insane line from an insane film about an insane war.

“If you’re good at something never do it for free.”

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Film: The Dark Knight (2008)

Delivered by the Joker (Heath Ledger) to a room full of mobsters, even scarier when you realise he’s talking about killing people. Scarier still when he burns all the money he got paid – suggested by @shubham_hadole

Also Read: Five Great AudioFction Podcasts To Listen To

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