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A scene from the film 'Civil War,' written and directed by Alex Garland and coming to theaters in the Spring of 2024.
"What kind of American are you?"
Described by producers as an "adrenaline-fueled thrill ride through a near-future fractured America balanced on the razor's edge," the promotion of a life-like dystopian film called "Civil War" dropped this week, feeding on the very real fears of increasing social fractures in the United States undergirded by Donald Trump's far-right fascism and a Republican Party increasingly hostile to democratic norms.
Written and directed by filmmaker Alex Garland and set for release in April 2024, the movie's trailer opens by informing audiences that 19 U.S. states have seceded as a military confrontation erupts between a standing U.S. government based in Washington, D.C. and the so-called "Western Forces" that are somehow a coalition army based out of California and Texas.
While the exact politics of the film are not made clear, the trailer certainly evokes a sense of chaos and menace reminiscent of the rhetoric and violence on display during the January 6th insurrection attempt by Trump's MAGA mob in 2021.
As The Verge notes in its review, "It's hard to glean too many story details from the trailer, but it features a small group attempting to infiltrate a heavily fortified Washington, D.C. It also features the tagline 'all empires fall,' so you know things aren't going so well."
Watch the trailer:
Civil War | Official Trailer HD | A24
"This is not at all how it would happen," said Jim Stewartson, a podcaster who frequently critiques the far-right Trump movement, "but a lot of cult members, preppers, boogaloos, & ammosexuals who have been fantasizing about civil war for years are very excited about this movie."
"Dropping this a few months before an existentially important election," Stewartson added, "seems… cynical."
In one scene featured in the trailer, a small group of people on a barren road—including one young woman on her knees—are being questioned by a pair of soldiers with military assault weapons.
"There's some kind of misunderstanding here," says one unarmed member of the group being questioned, "We're Americans, OK?"
"Ok," says the soldier, played by noted actor Jesse Plemmons, before adding: "What kind of American are you?"
And then the guns are raised.
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Described by producers as an "adrenaline-fueled thrill ride through a near-future fractured America balanced on the razor's edge," the promotion of a life-like dystopian film called "Civil War" dropped this week, feeding on the very real fears of increasing social fractures in the United States undergirded by Donald Trump's far-right fascism and a Republican Party increasingly hostile to democratic norms.
Written and directed by filmmaker Alex Garland and set for release in April 2024, the movie's trailer opens by informing audiences that 19 U.S. states have seceded as a military confrontation erupts between a standing U.S. government based in Washington, D.C. and the so-called "Western Forces" that are somehow a coalition army based out of California and Texas.
While the exact politics of the film are not made clear, the trailer certainly evokes a sense of chaos and menace reminiscent of the rhetoric and violence on display during the January 6th insurrection attempt by Trump's MAGA mob in 2021.
As The Verge notes in its review, "It's hard to glean too many story details from the trailer, but it features a small group attempting to infiltrate a heavily fortified Washington, D.C. It also features the tagline 'all empires fall,' so you know things aren't going so well."
Watch the trailer:
Civil War | Official Trailer HD | A24
"This is not at all how it would happen," said Jim Stewartson, a podcaster who frequently critiques the far-right Trump movement, "but a lot of cult members, preppers, boogaloos, & ammosexuals who have been fantasizing about civil war for years are very excited about this movie."
"Dropping this a few months before an existentially important election," Stewartson added, "seems… cynical."
In one scene featured in the trailer, a small group of people on a barren road—including one young woman on her knees—are being questioned by a pair of soldiers with military assault weapons.
"There's some kind of misunderstanding here," says one unarmed member of the group being questioned, "We're Americans, OK?"
"Ok," says the soldier, played by noted actor Jesse Plemmons, before adding: "What kind of American are you?"
And then the guns are raised.
Described by producers as an "adrenaline-fueled thrill ride through a near-future fractured America balanced on the razor's edge," the promotion of a life-like dystopian film called "Civil War" dropped this week, feeding on the very real fears of increasing social fractures in the United States undergirded by Donald Trump's far-right fascism and a Republican Party increasingly hostile to democratic norms.
Written and directed by filmmaker Alex Garland and set for release in April 2024, the movie's trailer opens by informing audiences that 19 U.S. states have seceded as a military confrontation erupts between a standing U.S. government based in Washington, D.C. and the so-called "Western Forces" that are somehow a coalition army based out of California and Texas.
While the exact politics of the film are not made clear, the trailer certainly evokes a sense of chaos and menace reminiscent of the rhetoric and violence on display during the January 6th insurrection attempt by Trump's MAGA mob in 2021.
As The Verge notes in its review, "It's hard to glean too many story details from the trailer, but it features a small group attempting to infiltrate a heavily fortified Washington, D.C. It also features the tagline 'all empires fall,' so you know things aren't going so well."
Watch the trailer:
Civil War | Official Trailer HD | A24
"This is not at all how it would happen," said Jim Stewartson, a podcaster who frequently critiques the far-right Trump movement, "but a lot of cult members, preppers, boogaloos, & ammosexuals who have been fantasizing about civil war for years are very excited about this movie."
"Dropping this a few months before an existentially important election," Stewartson added, "seems… cynical."
In one scene featured in the trailer, a small group of people on a barren road—including one young woman on her knees—are being questioned by a pair of soldiers with military assault weapons.
"There's some kind of misunderstanding here," says one unarmed member of the group being questioned, "We're Americans, OK?"
"Ok," says the soldier, played by noted actor Jesse Plemmons, before adding: "What kind of American are you?"
And then the guns are raised.