Okay, this tiny screen cap from that new civil war movie is enough to confirm that the filmmakers have got no fucking clue what they're talking about and I'm pretty doubtful they've ever been to any of flyover America, at all.
I'm saying this as a professional speculative fiction writer/editor AND one of those knuckle dragging wild red state gun nuts who is surely on several government To Do lists in case of Civil War 2.0.
So, if I was getting paid to write this story-
A. All those nice arbitrary state lines on the map? Horseshit. That's all going out the window day 1. It's gonna be regional and cultural balkanization. Period.
B. The biggest cultural divide in America is assholes who want to meddle in everyone else's business vs. people who want to be left alone. Every other hot button topic we have is related to that. Pick one to be the flash point, but it's all gonna come back to that.
C. The clearest divide between those two groups is rural vs. urban. There are no "blue states" or "red states". There are blue cities who out vote all the red country around them. This is true across most of the country.
D. Some people are saying California and Texas could theoretically team up, because the Ds are trying to turn Texas blue... Yeah, big difference between voting and civil war, because when the apocalypse rolls around regular old Remember the Alamo well-armed Texans would happily shut off all the water and power into Austin, say "lol good luck with that commies" and then shoot anybody who came out. It ain't about counting votes now, it's about counting bullets.
E. See D get repeated in every state to varying degree. There is a LOT of built up anger out there, the likes of which I don't think our elite urban betters even sorta comprehend.
E2. Like I can't accentuate this one enough. The only reason a lot more assholes don't just get shot in America is decent people don't want to serve time.
F. Like look at this dumb shit. Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, being together. Yeah sure. I live here. Makes sense. Us being allied with Portland or Seattle? Lol. The rest of Washington and Oregon DESPISE Portland and Seattle.
G. Even in the super red/blue states, opening day of Civil War Season means law has basically gone out the window, so there's a whole bunch of really useless and annoying people who get put with in these places by the locals, where suddenly, it no longer behooves the local population to do so anymore. So right out the gate it is score settling and blood grudge time. We aren't talking about North v. South now. We are talking Rwandan machete party.
H. Look at Nevada. Have these people ever been to Nevada? Nevada is not a lib state. Nevada is a zillion miles of desert and bitter cowboys with one liberal city that exists to take Californian's money. This is a city which literally should not exist according to the basic laws of nature, and once the water infrastructure is threatened, it's nothing but a source of refugees.
I. California is not a unified state either. I grew up there. The rest of California hates the two coastal cities which rule over them and treat them as serfs. Same with New York State, despising New York City, (and hell, half of New York City hates New York City)
K. Not related to the map, but apparently the heroes of this story are NEWS REPORTERS.
Holy shit. Read the room, Hollywood.
I could write the shit out of a Civil War 2.0 screenplay, and unlike my lefty Hollywood counterparts, I can actually write about characters who aren't shallow versions of myself and still make them believable, but I won't hold my breathe about any studios calling me anytime soon.
