The plot of the Civil War movie was captivating, like how I enjoyed other Alex Garland movies, but in a different way. I felt like I was on the ground with the characters, and sometimes, I found myself clenching my teeth.
But it was more like a mental exercise throughout the movie because I can hear myself wondering about questions I wouldn’t ask myself on an ordinary day, such as:
- If somebody would be pointing a gun at me, how would I respond?
- If somebody just shot colleagues standing beside me, how would I react?
- If somebody were shooting at me, would I shoot back (if I had a gun with me)? And if I run away to safety (because I don’t have anything with me to fight back), will I be able to outrun the threat, or will I never know because I’m already shot in the head?
- If I were in a foreign land as a migrant worker, then I’d be caught in a civil war; what is the chance that I’d be killed by an ultranationalist just because I am a foreigner? Talk about racism.
- Would I enjoy the ignorant bliss of staying out of the civil war while a militia is controlling our lands to maintain localized peace? Would I not care for other people caught in the civil war as long as I am safe and alive?
- Would I rather stand on what I believe in (say, stand firm being pro- or anti-government) and be killed by what I believe in, or stay out of danger to preserve my life (and does this mean being neutral and not choosing sides?)
- In a civil war, are we supposed to choose sides? What if we don’t choose a side because we just want to live and not be involved in anything that might kill us?
Then, there were moments that I tried to be in the shoes of the characters, and when I did, I started to ask questions like:
- How much death do I need to see to be desensitized by the ugliness of war?
- Will I ever still be able to sleep after witnessing many deaths, or will I be haunted by the images I took?
- When the photographers capture the moment, be it struggles or death, would it be a life worth giving to take an award-winning shot while being a spectator of all the horrors?
- Can we be spectators of the horrors and not do anything about it because we want to keep ourselves alive since getting involved is a death sentence?
And towards the end of the movie, I was deeply bothered by these thoughts:
- In a civil war, how would you know whose side somebody is really on?
- If you point a gun to someone’s head (assuming that the other isn’t part of your side), are you going to shoot them in the name of the side you’re on? Are you doing it for life preservation because if you don’t shoot them, they’ll shoot you? Or are you doing it because of the adrenaline and the power you get from taking someone’s life?
- And if the object of your wrath has been killed, would peace ensue? Or would bloodthirst become so strong that people would start killing each other out of distrust and chaos?
I’m considering rewatching it again, and it’s a movie I’d recommend you watch, too! It gives a front-seat mental experience of what it’s like to live in a world where people fight against people to death—hopefully, a future we strive to live without.
Supplementary reading:
- Civil War Movie Review
- ‘Civil War’ Review: Alex Garland’s Dystopian Thriller Starring Kirsten Dunst Stimulates the Intellect, if Not the Emotions
- Don’t Think ‘Civil War’ Is for You? Let Star Kirsten Dunst Explain Why ‘It’s Actually Not What You Think It Is’
- Why California and Texas Are Allies in ‘Civil War’
jessa 