Wednesday A24 released the trailer for their new movie, Civil War, leading to great speculation. Will it somehow be evenhanded? Will it be unbearably woke? Perhaps most pertinent, why are we getting this movie at all?
Obviously, we won’t know anything until the movie is released early next year.
The trailer opens with a car radio spinning through various news stations reporting on current events: 19 states have succeeded; the President of the remaining United States (Nick Offerman) is in his third term and issuing stern warnings to the rebels. Meanwhile, a man (Wagner Moura) talks incredulously with a shopkeeper who seems to be in denial about the ongoing civil war.
Maybe if you ignore it the problem won’t touch you.
We then cut to a presidential address and learn that Texas and California have “suffered a very great defeat at the hands of the United States military.” The enemy of my enemy is my friend, I guess? Anyway, it turns out “the hands of the United States military” were dropping bombs on American citizens. There’s footage of that, with a church and a Jesus Saves sign in the midst of the attack.
Who are the bad guys?
It’s then implied that a retaliatory assault on Washington D.C. is planned, with a journalist (Kirsten Dunst, who has aged gracefully!) wants to get closer to some danger, knowing full well that journalists are often killed on sight. The trailer goes on from there, with some interesting action scenes and Jesse Plemons’ militia man asking, “What kind of American are you?”
It’s a question many people are asking themselves.
The idea that we’re in the midst of a cold civil war now, or that we need a national divorce, has been in the public discourse since Trump was in office. If done well, Civil War could show us what a nightmare that would be. Too many people on both sides think they’re tougher than they are. In a 2021 7% of men said they thought they could beat a grizzly bear in a fight. With that kind of machismo, a civil war would be a walk in the park.
But honestly, I’m taking a more cynical view on the movie.
First and foremost, Hollywood wants attention. Have you ever met an actor, or anyone else in the industry? The one thing they crave, even more than money, is attention. It’s guaranteed, both by the trailer and simple logic, that Civil War will be a spectacle. It’ll be extreme. Civil war is a hot button issue, so they’ll want to portray it in such a way that the audience feels they’ve get their money’s worth.
Whether or not it’s worth our time and money remains to be seen.
Second, much of the story will take place in parts of the country in which the screenwriters have limited experience. They don’t know how to write middle America because they’ve never been there and can only portray it as they’ve been told. I don’t enjoy seeing myself and my neighbors in caricature. Little, incidental or accidental, elements of truth probably won’t be enough to satisfy me.
Finally, we should ask why the person telling the story is telling the story.
As Michael McGruther observed, “The System cashes in on the narrative. Every time.” The narrative is that we’re a deeply divided country and that civil war is inevitable. The narrative is that pockets of the nation are filled with political extremists. A movie like Civil War is a way to affirm those beliefs and get that craved attention. And make some money on the side. When we’re told something is or isn’t there long enough, eventually our perception changes.
Civil War may turn out to be an interesting, entertaining, thought-provoking movie.
But I don’t need it if it fails to represent the truth about the America I know before exploring possibilities. I’m not hopeful that it will. Heroic female journalist? A president willing to bomb Americans, played by a typecast manly-man actor? A premise more apt to divide than unite? No thanks.
However.
If it turns out that the story serves as a warning, to remind us of who we really are and to hold to our virtues, I’ll be all in. There’s a possibility. That’s a story worth telling. But I’m not holding my breath.
