Anti-war movies and the politics of A24’s ‘Civil War’
A deep dive into the politics of the studio’s most expensive film to date
Steven Spielberg — director of Schindler’s list, Saving Private Ryan, War Horse — once said that: ‘Every war movie, good or bad, is an anti-war movie’.
Francois Truffaut — director of Fahrenheit 451, The Army Game, The Last Metro — once said that: ‘Every film about war ends up being pro-war.’
While they are mutually exclusive, both of these directors’ claims can be justified. Both can be evidenced by cherry picking from an extensive canon of ‘classic’ war movies. Both can be discredited in the same way. And, simply because that is the case, it’s clear that neither director is entirely correct and neither claim is inarguable.
Put simply, Spielberg’s idea is that war movies — that is, movies that contain a true depiction of war — are essentially anti-war. It’s sound logic: war is horrific and inglorious, so any film that depicts war truthfully would be incapable of glorifying it, and couldn’t possibly be received as ‘pro-’.
Truffaut’s feeling is that the medium of film alone sensationalises, glorifies, excites whatever story it is telling. Because, while it’s not the case that to present a thing is to endorse it, film requires…
