Will “Civil War” The Movie Change Our Minds About An Actual Civil War?

Maybe this movie could show us the inevitable society-ending cataclysm of a real one.

Kirsten Dunst in ‘Civil War’

by Bob Cesca

WASHINGTON, DC – Almost exactly 40 years ago, a TV movie changed the course of humanity with a terrifying story about a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Day After aired just once, on November 20, 1983, and it terrified everyone who watched – the radio broadcasts revealing the escalating tensions over Berlin, the nauseatingly foreboding scenes of missiles being launched in the American midwest, and the surreal orange-brown mushroom clouds erupting over major American cities, vaporizing everything within the devastating blast zones.

After watching the movie during a special advanced screening President Reagan wrote in his journal that it left him “greatly depressed” and changed his views about nukes. That last part’s a bit harrowing, indicating that prior to seeing the movie, Reagan may have considered nuclear weapons to be a viable option. 

Nevertheless, Reagan considered the movie to be a direct precursor to the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, signed with Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev four years later. Incidentally, Donald Trump, while president, withdrew the United States from the treaty in 2018 and in 2019 test-fired a missile that would’ve been forbidden under the treaty. No surprise given how Trump, during the 2016 campaign, had no idea what the nuclear triad was.

The broader point here is that entertainment can often lead to positive change, as long as it's handled correctly.

This week, a movie trailer dropped for a film called Civil War, illustrating what secession and a modern civil war might look like in 21st Century America. Based on the trailer alone, the movie looks promising. It’s directed by the great Alex Garland who wrote the groundbreaking film 28 Days Later. He also wrote and directed Ex Machina in 2015. So, I’m optimistic that he’ll treat the subject matter the right way.

And that’s the most important thing. This has to be done right. I hope Civil War possesses a similar potential for change as The Day After. Now more than ever, Americans on all sides need to be disabused of their apathy and, in many cases, straight up support for secession and civil war. According to a 2022 Yougov poll:

Trump voters divide roughly down the middle on the question of whether things would be better (37%) or worse (40%) if the country as a whole actually split into a Blue Nation and a Red Nation. [...] Blue-state Joe Biden voters, for instance, are only slightly more inclined (27%) than Americans as a whole (21%) to say things would be better if America broke in two.

The fact that this is a poll question at all speaks volumes about where we are as a nation. Of course these numbers are buttressed by ongoing casual conversations about the inevitability of civil war, normalizing the concept – reducing a catastrophe into a cheap thought exercise without any real concept of how bloody and world-ending it would actually be. 

It’s becoming increasingly obvious that too many Americans have given up on words and votes – the cornerstones of a democracy. And, instead, they’ve resigned themselves to physically punishing the other side, as long as someone else will handle the punishment.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, I thought the images of war might perhaps mute some of our civil war fantasies, given that Ukraine looks so much like parts of the United States. Unlike the desert theaters for most modern wars, Ukraine could easily pass for cities, suburbs, and farm fields in America and the accompanying destruction, therefore, offers a preview of what we can expect if a civil war occurs here. It would look a lot like what you’ve seen in that war, only worse. But, of course, we haven’t seen any real change in our fascination with the concept.

Consequently, my sincere desire is for Civil War, the movie, to up the ante and show us the inevitable society-ending cataclysm of a real one. We’re talking about mass civilian casualties, daily acts of terrorism, the destabilization of the economy, and no end in sight. That last part is important to emphasize: when people believe in the uncompromising nature of their cause, however insane, they will never concede for fear of betraying their political and religious dogma, not to mention rendering meaningless the sacrifices of the dead. Put it this way: when was the last time a civil war came to a quick and reasonable conclusion? Good luck finding the answer. If anything, such an outcome is exceedingly rare.

If the movie doesn’t deliver on this front, I won’t begrudge it. It’s a lot of weight to place on the shoulders of the filmmakers. The only thing that will force me to return to this space to verbally destroy the film is if it glorifies the idea or, in any way, makes it look cool or winnable. But I hope, for our sake, that it has a similar effect on us as The Day After, 40 years on, especially when it comes to the far-right militias who would likely trigger a hot war on American soil.

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On Being Jew(ish)

A personal story on what it means to be a Jew. Or at least a half of one.

by Ben Cohen

It was under a Chuppah during my uncle’s Orthodox Jewish marriage ceremony in a synagogue in north London that I first remember feeling enormous pride in my Jewish heritage. I was 16 years old and confused, as most teenagers are, with the concept of my identity. Wearing a yarmulke standing next to my Grandmother while the rabbi officiated, I felt a part of something.

The wedding took place during a very tumultuous time in my life. I was sporting a nasty black eye I received during a nasty organized fight I took part in a week earlier, an event that had badly rocked my self confidence. I had been severely beaten up by an older boy in front of a crowd of students — a particularly humiliating affair given I had practiced Martial Arts for several years. This was also a few months after I had been sexually assaulted by a teacher, an event that had badly undermined my trust in adults and further battered my emerging sense of identity.

In my head I was a fighter, a tough kid who would stand up to bullies. I had a reputation in school for this, but recent events had ruthlessly exposed much of it as a lie. I had stood up to a bully, but was not the fighter I thought I was. I put up a decent effort, but I looked like I had been run over by a car by the time a friend stepped in and put a stop to the beating. My image at school was tarnished, I was in considerable physical pain, and I was also the victim of sexual assault. Not exactly the hero I imagined myself to be.

For a brief moment under the Chuppa, my Jewishness offered respite from the existential crisis I was going through. I was with my family, my people, my tribe. Group identity can be a powerful thing, particularly at such a fragile age.

Then, the rabbi told the audience that he was happy my uncle and aunt were getting married because they were both Jewish, and that marrying within the community was important to “protect the bloodline.”

My heart sank and the feelings of empowerment evaporated as quickly as they had come…

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