TEASER - 167: Civil War (with Ursula Lawrence)

Junk Filter

Access this entire 87 minute episode (and additional monthly bonus shows every month) by becoming a Junk Filter patron! Over 30% of episodes are exclusively available to patrons of the show. https://www.patreon.com/posts/167-civil-war-102981212

The comedy writer Ursula Lawrence (Drunk History, Adam Ruins Everything) returns to the show from Madison, Wisconsin to discuss A24’s first foray into blockbuster filmmaking, Alex Garland’s Civil War, set in a near-future America torn into factions, as seen from the perspective of an intrepid team of reporters travelling to Washington D.C. to get an interview with the totalitarian President on the verge of being violently deposed by the “Western Forces” of Texas and California.

Garland has described the work as an anti-war film where the particulars of the conflict are mere backdrop to a general story of combat journalists, but Ursula and I discuss Civil War’s politics anyway, what the film is and what it isn't, and kick the tires on its stated tone of ‘impartiality’ which seems more like faux-neutrality (with a Trumpian president and references to ‘the Portland Maoists’ that cater to the audiences’ already-existing biases).

Plus: an on-the-ground report from Ursula about seeing Civil War in a theatre in Madison that serves food and drinks!

Follow Ursula Lawrence on Twitter.

Trailer #1 for Civil War (Alex Garland, 2024)