I’ve been neglecting my blog, but I’m still here. Last week I saw mention of a Netflix thriller, A_House_of_Dynamite, so I watched it. As someone who has been pondering nuclear threats since I was 19 years old, I was curious to see how this movie portrayed a potential nuclear missile strike on America and also see what all the online hype was about.
The threats of a nuclear strike and/or nuclear exchange are gravely serious threats, but this movie was all high drama and fearmongering, to no real purpose. Anytime a movie on war of any kind comes out, all sorts of experts dissect every aspect of the plot and will point out all the technical or procedural errors that aren’t realistic, but where this movie failed is at the most basic storytelling level.
This movie thrummed with high emotion and fast-moving dramatic scenes, as a missile is detected on course to impact in mid-America. As scenes flit by, the leaders at the highest levels in our national security apparatus try to intercept that missile, but each attempt fails and the tension escalates. Then, as it’s down to waiting for the missile strike to impact the movie ends.
Being 65 yrs old now and not 19, I wasn’t terrified; I sat there disgusted. A story with no ending is a total failure as a story. Stories can have good endings, bad endings, cliffhangers, unsatisfying endings, but this movie had no ending. I felt shamelessly manipulated.
The online chatter was that leaving you wondering was the point of the movie, but you’re left not knowing if it was a nuclear missile or not. You’re left not knowing who launched that missile. You’re left not knowing what the President did, if anything. You’re left sitting there at the most critical part not knowing anything… then the credits rolled.
Arguments about whether this movie was realistic or an accurate portrayal of a possible nuclear strike are beside the point, Arguments that “not knowing” was the point to make you think, without giving you enough information to form any sort of rational conclusion, What you are left clearly knowing is this movie deliberately played on your emotions and stoked fear to the max about a subject that invokes gut-wrenching fear in most people, then failed to do what every good story does – deliver some sort of ending. Viewers were deliberately led on a fear-inducing rollercoaster ride, then left stranded at the top.
The reality is, yes, nuclear weapons have the potential to destroy millions of people or even all of us, but reacting in fear isn’t going to do anything to lessen the threat of a nuclear attack or nuclear exchange. I think most people lack any understanding of nuclear weapons and what they believe is largely formed by media and Hollywood fearmongering…like this stupid movie.
The larger issue of nuclear strategy and actually with any military strategy is the type of weapons is really a secondary concern, because determining a threat from any other person, group or country is about people and what lies in their hearts. We would do better to focus more on understanding what leaders of adversarial countries think, what are their national interests and intentions and how do they view us rather than cower in fear about certain weapons systems. What happens with any weapon is always a people problem first.
Technology development drives the discussions on military strategy and national security, so while the nuclear threat always makes for a panic-inducing Hollywood plot, now that the Ukraine War led to rapid drone warfare innovation, assuredly, some movies will emerge hyping the alarming threat from drone swarms. So, I’m awaiting Hollywood movies hyping some sort of apocalyptic drone swarm attack soon, reminiscent of the Hitchcock movie, The Birds.
My larger concern about American national security isn’t about any specific weapons system; it’s about the rising level of disunity in America. This growing disunity, stoked by hyper-partisanship, with politicians, media and social media being 24/7 sirens of outrage, concerns me more than the thought of nuclear war. While our strategic experts toss about techno mumbo jumbo, our leaders are actually leading the charge at fomenting more disunity. THAT should leave every American alarmed, because every single American sees signs of this growing disunity every single day
A country, or even a community,, where the people are divided into hostile factions and don’t speak to each other, aren’t going to be able to organize and work together in any crisis. So, regardless of whatever super-duper weapons we have, if we are not united by any common beliefs and values, we are defenseless in a real crisis. I’ll stick to my long-held belief that what evil lies in the hearts of man is the greatest threat over any weapons system.
America can face an existential threat due to factors that have nothing to do with high-tech weaponry, like nuclear missiles. A string of terrible decisions to transform America, that lead to cascading catastrophic outcomes and leaders who won’t work together is already in motion. This happened in Mao’s China, where Mao’s reform policies for the Great Leap Forward, resulted in the starvation and death of tens of millions of people. Our adversaries don’t have to launch nuclear missiles at us, when they are already aggressively working every day to foment more divides, in tandem with trying to cripple our critical infrastructure.
I still believe the most important things any of us can do to improve our odds of surviving any catastrophe are getting to know our neighbors and being willing to offer a helping hand . Being willing to work together is the most powerful self-defense “weapon” all of us possess. It doesn’t cost billions of dollars or require any government program – all people need to do is make being a good neighbor a top priority. One good deed or overture of goodwill can lead to a groundswell of change.
This is the most important thing we can all do to be prepared for any disaster and it’s definitely more constructive than sitting there cowering in fear worrying about nuclear weapons.
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