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In April of next year, a new major film about a second American civil war is set to premier. From Fox News:
Written and directed by Alex Garland, "Civil War" is described in a tagline as "a race to the White House in a near-future America balanced on the razor's edge." In the two-and-a-half-minute trailer from A24, the "razor's edge" appears to be a modern civil war following the secession of 19 states. The trailer contains various provocative images, including U.S. soldiers and military tanks tearing through American cities during an apparent uprising. "Do you regret the use of airstrikes on American citizens?" a journalist appears to ask the "three-term" president, played by Nick Offerman.
I've written before about emerging Civil War narratives in the US. The reds have threatened war over the Trump prosecutions while the blues have been talking like the January 6 riot was the opening salvo in such a war. Here's a quote from a Guardian piece published last year on the blue perspective:
Activist white supremacists in positions of authority are the real threat to American order and security. "If you look at how authoritarian regimes come into power, they tacitly authorize a group of political thugs to use violence against their political enemies," [former FBI agent Michael] German says. "That ends up with a lot of street violence, and the general public gets upset about the street violence and says, 'Government, you have to do something about this street violence,' and the government says, 'Oh my hands are tied, give me a broad enabling power and I will go after these thugs.' And of course once that broad power is granted, it isn't used to target the thugs. They either become a part of the official security apparatus or an auxiliary force."
What's the message?
Realistically, the possibility of a war between US states seems extremely remote. At the same time, society is falling apart by many measures, and armed conflicts are common across the country. Against this backdrop, politicians may become increasingly willing to level threats and accusations related to civil war. We may even see increasingly totalitarian government activity in the name of preventing such a war.
Everywhere I look, I see signs that 2024 will be filled with election year madness. This new film is probably going to be part of that madness, as it clearly glorifies militarism and depicts military combat operations on American soil. And given the strong connection between the Pentagon and Hollywood, the film likely has a propaganda purpose designed to serve the control regime. My guess is that it will push the narrative that rebellion against the status quo inevitably leads to war.
The more conspiracy-minded part of me wonders if a hidden purpose of Civil War is to begin normalizing the idea of military forces carrying out missions in our communities. It's currently illegal for the US military to engage in domestic law enforcement, but any situation that can be declared an emergency could change this equation. While the public might not support such a move today, a blockbuster film glorifying militarism might sway public opinion.
Of course, modern society isn't structured in way that would pit one block of states against another. The deepest divisions in our society aren't geographical. They're ideological. True, urban and rural populations are very different. But what makes them different isn't where they live. What makes them different is what they believe.
It will be interesting to see what happens in Civil War when it comes out. Maybe the film will surprise audiences by not promoting militarism, thought the trailer suggests otherwise. And movies like this don't get made without some level of .mil involvement. Still, it's always possible this film will prove an exception to the rule.
Read my novels:
- Small Gods of Time Travel is available as a web book on IPFS and as a 41 piece Tezos NFT collection on Objkt.
- The Paradise Anomaly is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- Psychic Avalanche is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- One Man Embassy is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- Flying Saucer Shenanigans is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- Rainbow Lullaby is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- The Ostermann Method is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- Blue Dragon Mississippi is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
See my NFTs:
- Small Gods of Time Travel is a 41 piece Tezos NFT collection on Objkt that goes with my book by the same name.
- History and the Machine is a 20 piece Tezos NFT collection on Objkt based on my series of oil paintings of interesting people from history.
- Artifacts of Mind Control is a 15 piece Tezos NFT collection on Objkt based on declassified CIA documents from the MKULTRA program.