Commentary: ‘Civil War’ Has The Wrong Title
by Frank Martin
With the current political climate as tense as it is, it’s no surprise that a movie entitled Civil War — taking place during a fictional fracture in modern America — would draw controversy. That’s also probably by design. Controversy creates buzz, which helps in terms of marketing. However, the title of a film is incredibly important. It informs the audience what it is about and gets them in a certain headspace before viewing. In that regard, Civil War is an incredibly misleading name for the movie as a whole.
The film takes place in the near0future with America torn apart by a civil war. The story itself focuses on a famous war correspondent named Lee Smith (Kirsten Dunst). Alongside a colleague, Joel (Wagner Moura), the two venture from New York to Washington, DC in order to interview and photograph the President. Along the way, they encounter many battles, often putting their own lives at risk. When they finally make it to the White House, they accompany soldiers and Lee makes a fateful choice while trying to save Jessie (Cailee Spaeny), another young war photographer who idolizes her.
Calling the film Civil War gives the audience the impression that the story is about a modern American civil war. However, the particulars of the war and the politics involved are never brought up. From the moment the film begins, it informs the audience that California and Texas are on the same side — a political impossibility in today’s world. The narrative immediately establishes itself as a fictional war in a fictional world. And instead of dramatizing that war, the movie centers the reporters on the ground and the struggles they face. It’s about how all war is bad, not just a war in America. A different title would have communicated that to the audience and prepared them for what they were about to experience. Instead, the audience will see the title and expect to get a completely different kind of movie.
Civil War is now streaming on HBO Max.
