I was not exactly surprised by the January 6, 2021 insurrection. Like a lot of D.C. residents, I have family and friends who literally work in the Capitol. There are others in my life that cover the right wing extremist movements. Maybe most importantly, like most Internet savvy Millennials, I understood how 4Chan and 8Chan led to QAnon. While what happened was incredibly horrifying and serious, it was not shocking. 

War Game is a new ‘documentary’ about another potential insurrection. Current and former members of the United States Congress, military generals and others with previous experience serving the public deal with a hypothetical insurrection. The film, set on January 6, 2025, deals with a hypothetical insurrectionist group and a hypothetical candidate that lost an election bid. In a pointless and dumb attempt at crossing the aisle, literally no one says this is about Trump. The former POTUS is barely mentioned in this thing, but whatever, if you’re able to overlook that obvious and intentional omission, it’s a captivating watch. 

The one aspect of War Game that instantly takes you out of it is the sitting president is not on the side of the rioters. Similar to how time travel doesn’t work in film once you spend 5 seconds thinking about the logistics of time travel, isn’t the only reason January 6, 2021 got so out of hand was the sitting president was on the side of the extremists? In War Game the threat mostly comes from extremists in the miliary. While there are far right extremists in every branch of the military, they’re still a very small minority. It’s referenced in the film. 7% of the hypothetical National Guard is made up of the hypothetical insurrections. If 93% of people that are not insurrections can not stop 7%, aren’t we screwed no matter what?  

Another omission, one that helps explain a very small amount of why January 6, 2021 was so bad, is that it was at the height of Covid and most people still did not have access to the vaccine. You know who really cared about not getting Covid? People that would not storm the Capitol! 

What is super scary and one of the issues that this film helps shine a light on is how slow and crippled certain people can be when it comes to social media and AI generated propaganda. This is where a double bill with The Anti-Social Network might be helpful. If literally anyone that understood the origins of 4Chan was in a position of influence in the United States government in 2015, the absurdity of QAnon could have been prevented. But it’s pointless to live in the past. One of the most illuminating conversations in War Game is about the people that are sold on conspiracy theories and how long and difficult it takes to break the spell. The most effective play actor is a former service member that speaks truth to power to the generals about how current military members are easily susceptible to domestic terrorism. If a bad actor can create literally anything they think of to rile up a certain group, it’s kind of important to the people making the call understand how media manipulation works. Most D.C. residents of a certain age understand this. Unfortunately a lot of people that work in the Capitol do not.

The film gets even more D.C. when clips of Congressman Jamie Raskin at the January 6th Hearings are shown. I was just at the 16th Annual Play Day at Takoma Middle School and he led a group of kids in Simon Says! That’s the same dude! He attempts to save democracy and leads kids in games! He’s not an actor, he’s a real-life politician that seems to be on the good side! There’s hope for America!

Director Jess Moss is all over this ‘doc,’ playing the role of the Arizona governor, the director of the war game within War Game and speaking direct to camera about her experience as a member of the Marines and the daughter of someone that got swept up in QAnon. It’s not exactly Michael Moore asking for an interview with General Motors CEO Roger Smith, but it’s definitely documentary activism. If you’re one of the people that found yourself tearing up on January 6, 2021, just like Moss says and does in the film, you most likely be interested in a screening. But you may want a trigger warning. 

War Game is both terrifying and a sick joke. It’s absolutely worth viewing before the 2024 election and, god forbid, January 6, 2025. Pair it with The Anti-Social Network and you’ll either have your faith in sanity restored or start making your evacuation plans from D.C. As long as there are people like Raskin and Moss still believe in this country, everything should be fine. Should.

That was written after seeing the film and before Jack Smith’s 165-page court filing against Trump was made public. Viewing War Game with that report in your mind is quite a different experience. It’s not better. For me, it’s much, much worse. There is literally nothing you or I can do to prevent another insurrection. So, I guess, fuck it? Fingers crossed?

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