News broke today as combat between the United States and the Western Forces escalated in dramatic fashion. The uprising, led by California and Texas and their 19-state consortium, “will be dealt with swiftly.”
And so begins the trailer for writer/director Alex Garland’s Civil War, due out in April. The film, starring Kirsten Dunst, Nick Offerman, Jesse Plemons, Wagner Moura, and others, depicts an America torn apart in the near future. The trailer made the rounds on social media quickly today, with opinions varying as much as the divides depicted in the film. Some, such as The Ringer’s Shea Serrano, gleefully cheered the movie’s imminent arrival. Others said that dystopian thrillers rang too close for home. And seemingly more commonly laughed at the idea that California and Texas could unite over anything (I have thoughts on this below).
Certainly the idea of an American Civil War is nothing new. Conservatives have howled for it lately, culminating with Donald Trump’s attempted coup on January 6, 2021. Readers here are no doubt familiar with the American Civil War of 1861-1865, something covered as we taped an episode on the film Glory just a few hours ago. There have been other attempts as well. South Carolina, which waged treason during the Civil War, also attempted to leave following the 1828 “Tariff of abominations.” South Carolina elites, it seems, liked paying for neither taxes nor labor in during the early Republic. Leaving, however, was not unique to the South. In late 1814 and early 1815, Federalist delegates met in Hartford, Connecticut and considered seccession, though cooler heads ultimately prevailed.
Driving from Florida to Colorado a few months ago it was obvious just how vocal Trump supporters remain despite his attempts to steal the liberty of so many Americans in his second consecutive popular vote loss. One of the hallmarks I saw as I made my way was how many extremely large flags flew behind somehow larger trucks. They were attempts at intimidation, something the magnet on my own truck enjoyed poking fun at:
But the tensions are real and it certainly feels like we are on the precipice of another break. I have long felt that the only thing keeping the states together was that politically there weren’t enough states to pull away from a regional position, though that may be naive. From what we can tell, there are at least two breakaway groups in the film, with the Western Forces threatening Washington, D.C., and the Florida Alliance presumably coupled with at least a couple contiguous states, or New Jersey, the majority of whom live in South Florida already.1
And by the way, if you’re wondering what could unite 19 western states despite an apparent lack of political unity, the answer is access to a single resource: water.
I think the film itself definitely demonstrates concerns over the potential of an American collapse. As the trailer states in bold letters: ALL. EMPIRES. FALL. We’ll be watching and will be reporting back. What do you think? Hit us in the comments below.
MAILBAG
I’d like to do something special for those of you who have so kindly pledged your support to HATM and the Podcast. I’m kicking around the idea of a mailbag episode of the podcast, perhaps making it exclusive here on Substack. So here’s how it’ll work: post questions below or email them to historiansatthemovies@gmail.com with the subject line MAILBAG and we’ll answer them on the pod. Your questions can be about anything—history, movies, Florida, Colorado, really anything you want to know—and Producer Fletcher Powell and I will answer them for you. Ask as many as you want; just make them fun.
Alright, that’s all for tonight. We’ve got a new pod hitting the world at 6am eastern time- Kate Jewell is talking about High Fidelity and her new book about the history of college radio. I hope you like it.
Thanks for being here.
-JWH
-PSSS if civil war does ever occur, you can find me in the Conch Republic
So do iguanas, but despite pooping everywhere, iguanas are somehow more welcome than Jerseyans. Probably because iguanas are better dressers.