In the lead up to the release of Alex Garland’s “Civil War,” there were many people (this writer included) who worried that the film would be so controversial that it might take away from the release of the film. However, what people didn’t expect was that the film would primarily focus on the characters and not take a huge political stance. Interestingly, the fact that it didn’t take an extreme stance made some people upset. Now that the film has been released for months, Garland is speaking up about people who call his film apolitical.
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Speaking at an Edinburgh International Film Festival event (via THR), filmmaker Alex Garland talked about the reception “Civil War” received when it was released earlier this year. For those unaware, “Civil War” tells the story of a modern day, well, civil war between Americans through the point of view of war journalists. The film earned generally favorable reviews and earned good money at the box office. However, there were many on social media that wished Garland would have taken a side, politically. The film does show a Trump-esque President, but it also features a coalition between Texas and California, which seem to be at two ends of the ideological spectrum.
For people on the extreme Left, the film didn’t go far enough. For folks on the extreme Right, the film felt too liberal. Garland just couldn’t win. And according to the filmmaker, the reason he stayed in the center is because… he’s a centrist.
“I’m in my mid 50s and I’m a centrist,” Garland said. “That’s where I am politically. I’m a centrist. I’m left-wing centrist. So I write and I think and I talk and I move through the world in a centrist position.”
He continued, “The idea that centrism is not a political position is idiotic. It is a political position. It is a political position against extremism. It’s actually specifically against the extreme right, I would say, because that’s the greatest danger that democracies tend to encounter, and they do encounter. If you take that danger seriously, then centrism is a position you can take. It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right one. It’s my one. The idea that centrism is apolitical is just stupid.”
Clearly, Garland isn’t afraid to ruffle some feathers with his words. For him, the film is perfectly political, but it just doesn’t satisfy the extremist views that seem to sometimes dominate social media.
And he’s not wrong. Being a centrist is a political position. However, it’s not one that people tend to see online. We all know that the loudest voices on social media tend to be those with more extreme views, even though they’re probably the minority. Regardless, Garland believes he made a political film, even if you don’t agree with him.