Civil War Director Says Controversial Sci-Fi Epic Is Just Reporting On American Battles And Conflicts
Alex Garland’s Civil War released over the weekend, to a wave of rave reviews from critics. Though the film presents a dystopian future of American life, complete with warring factions tearing the nation into several sovereign pieces, Garland claims in a recent interview with the Associated Press that the film simply covers the reality of the modern political landscape. In his interview, Garland claims that he wrote the film primarily in 2020, when the country was more divided than it had ever been before in his lifetime.
Garland’s Films Always Reflect Real World Issues
As the Associated Press article discusses, Garland’s films have a strange history of remaining prescient to the real world outside of their release. Garland penned the zombie film 28 Days Later back in 2002, which centers on the world-shattering concept of a viral pandemic, which was heavily used as a reference point during the actual COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. Before taking on Civil War, Garland’s directorial debut, Ex Machina, focused on artificial intelligence which had gotten so good at mimicking human interaction that the machine seemed human itself.
Now, Civil War has arrived in theaters, and presents something of a worst-case scenario for the political landscape of our ongoing election year. While the breakdown of modern society shown in the film couldn’t truly happen overnight, the film does offer insight into the fractured state of American politics, especially as we gear up for a rematch with the same candidates who sparred for the Oval Office in 2020.
January 6
The aftermath of the 2020 presidential election was likely the closest the country has been to an actual civil war since the 1800s, as hordes of fringe political activists stormed the Capitol in an attempt to overthrow the free and fair elections that define American democracy. To this day, many of those hard-right actors believe in their heart that the election was unlawfully stolen from them, simply because they so firmly disagree with the results.
A Little Too Close To Real Life
As the country inches toward a Trump vs. Biden rematch, many political analysts fear that violence will occur across the country regardless of who takes home the title of President of the United States. In Civil War, numerous republics of American states band together to stop the rise of an authoritarian fascist president who, while initially voted into office, seizes a third term by ignoring the results of an election.
Civil War Is Closer To Reality Than We Want To Admit
According to Garland, the undercurrent of political violence is stronger than what’s advertised on the local news, and much closer to being a reality than any of us would like to admit. While discussing his process for writing Civil War, the filmmaker stated “When things collapse, the speed at which they collapse tends to surprise people — including people like intelligence officers whose job is to watch and predict when these things will happen. Things are always in a slightly more dangerous state than they might appear.”
An Apolitical Stance
Luckily, Civil War doesn’t take its political messaging and hammer viewers over the head with it. Instead, the film manages to take a largely apolitical approach, as the politics of the split American factions play out largely in the background. The result allows audiences to enjoy the intense action of the film, without feeling like your own views are on trial in front of you, regardless of your political affiliations.
Source: AP News
