aggiehawg said:

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rgag12 said:

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I think they are teaming up TX and Cali to throw off any obvious connections to today's political landscape. No matter how hard they try though people will find things to grab and say they're favoring one side or the other.

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Agree that people will take away from this movie what they want to take away unless there is little question. The story arc and plotline have been kept secret to gin up interest from as broad an audience as possible in the opening weeks or so.

Having said that, having the apparently main characters be journalists, including a war correspondent leads me to think it will have a more standoffish POV wherein both sides are right and wrong, more of an anti-war take in that everyone loses in war.

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That's the vibe I got from it as well.

cypress-ag said:

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aggiehawg said:

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Cali is allot like Texas with even more people. Large MSA's that are leftist/democrat, with agriculture & decent people outside of those areas.

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And they want their own state.

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Lots of great people outside of LA & SF that share conservative values. The same thing can be said in New York, Illinois, etc. Big Cities are liberal cesspools.

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At one point (i assume this is still true) there were more Republicans in California than Texas. People forget how enormous California is population wise. There are 40M people in California vs 30M in Texas vs 22M in Florida.

Here's a crazy "what if".

What if POTUS is a Trump like figure. CA leaves the union and takes a few states with them, mainly the west coast and HI. Meanwhile, the Trump like POTUS is still crossways with the DeSantis like Governor of Florida and stops cooperating with DC.

Meanwhile the Trump POTUS is so preoccupied with CA and FL getting rowdy that nothing is being done about the border disaster so Texas finally militarizes itself then just decides to leave completely after CA's governor convinced the Texas governor they are much stronger as Allie's and after DC is put in its place the new Republics of California and Texas can coexist as seperate nations and create economic and security agreements.

Ultimately a number of states geographically close to Florida, and Texas join them until a total of 19 have left the union (per the trailer) . Smaller states and those closest to DC remain out of fear they're too far from the big three (CA, TX, FL) to be protected.

Now if something like the above were attempted it might make a pretty fun "what if" scanrio for a film.

AGinHI said:

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The painted nails leads me to think it'll be the latter.

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I'm glad you mentioned the painted nails. When I see them on a male, it is an indicator of the type of individual I am dealing with. If ever encountered on the SHTF battlefield, it will be an easy way to discern mental state.

Urban Ag said:

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Here's a crazy "what if".

What if POTUS is a Trump like figure. CA leaves the union and takes a few states with them, mainly the west coast and HI. Meanwhile, the Trump like POTUS is still crossways with the DeSantis like Governor of Florida and stops cooperating with DC.

Meanwhile the Trump POTUS is so preoccupied with CA and FL getting rowdy that nothing is being done about the border disaster so Texas finally militarizes itself then just decides to leave completely after CA's governor convinced the Texas governor they are much stronger as Allie's and after DC is put in its place the new Republics of California and Texas can coexist as seperate nations and create economic and security agreements.

Ultimately a number of states geographically close to Florida, and Texas join them until a total of 19 have left the union (per the trailer) . Smaller states and those closest to DC remain out of fear they're too far from the big three (CA, TX, FL) to be protected.

Now if something like the above were attempted it might make a pretty fun "what if" scanrio for a film.

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Nice work. That would sell. And that gives you three of the 5 most most populous states. Plus the top teners Ga and NC would likely sign on with Fla. Then you have 2 sides with equal pop and eco power. The result would be a crater on what used to be North America.

Great anti-war film as everyone is dead.

Rapier108 said:

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And it is over 3 hours longs.

Somehow I suspect the bad guy will be a "right wing fascist" and probably doing every single thing the left has thought Reagan, Bush, Bush, and Trump were all going to do, but never actually did.

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Just don't think I could ever bring myself to put Trump on the same level with Reagan and Bush. But I think to your point...yes, they'll likely make the bad guy conservative.

ttu_85 said:

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Urban Ag said:

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Here's a crazy "what if".

What if POTUS is a Trump like figure. CA leaves the union and takes a few states with them, mainly the west coast and HI. Meanwhile, the Trump like POTUS is still crossways with the DeSantis like Governor of Florida and stops cooperating with DC.

Meanwhile the Trump POTUS is so preoccupied with CA and FL getting rowdy that nothing is being done about the border disaster so Texas finally militarizes itself then just decides to leave completely after CA's governor convinced the Texas governor they are much stronger as Allie's and after DC is put in its place the new Republics of California and Texas can coexist as seperate nations and create economic and security agreements.

Ultimately a number of states geographically close to Florida, and Texas join them until a total of 19 have left the union (per the trailer) . Smaller states and those closest to DC remain out of fear they're too far from the big three (CA, TX, FL) to be protected.

Now if something like the above were attempted it might make a pretty fun "what if" scanrio for a film.

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Nice work. That would sell. And that gives you three of the 5 most most populous states. Plus the top teners Ga and NC would likely sign on with Fla. Then you have 2 sides with equal pop and eco power. The result would be a crater on what used to be North America.

Great anti-war film as everyone is dead.

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Interesting. I agree the result would be either all dead or at least those surviving (and their children) will live out their lives in much worse shape than this country has ever been in.

Urban Ag said:

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Here's a crazy "what if".

What if POTUS is a Trump like figure. CA leaves the union and takes a few states with them, mainly the west coast and HI. Meanwhile, the Trump like POTUS is still crossways with the DeSantis like Governor of Florida and stops cooperating with DC.

Meanwhile the Trump POTUS is so preoccupied with CA and FL getting rowdy that nothing is being done about the border disaster so Texas finally militarizes itself then just decides to leave completely after CA's governor convinced the Texas governor they are much stronger as Allie's and after DC is put in its place the new Republics of California and Texas can coexist as seperate nations and create economic and security agreements.

Ultimately a number of states geographically close to Florida, and Texas join them until a total of 19 have left the union (per the trailer) . Smaller states and those closest to DC remain out of fear they're too far from the big three (CA, TX, FL) to be protected.

Now if something like the above were attempted it might make a pretty fun "what if" scanrio for a film.

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That would be a crazy scenario but it would fit exactly with current politics AND fit the movie. It would also be amazing if they did it right.

CA does have a strong independent streak. They don't like the Feds but for different reasons than we do. I could see it play out exactly like this.

BluHorseShu said:

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Rapier108 said:

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And it is over 3 hours longs.

Somehow I suspect the bad guy will be a "right wing fascist" and probably doing every single thing the left has thought Reagan, Bush, Bush, and Trump were all going to do, but never actually did.

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Just don't think I could ever bring myself to put Trump on the same level with Reagan and Bush. But I think to your point...yes, they'll likely make the bad guy conservative.

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Not the same level as Reagan, certainly, as Reagan's principles and philosophy was the product of his lifelong experiences and studies of the role of government and politics. Read Reagan's letters from way before he ran for President. His speeches at RNC convention, etc.

Trump relies much more on gut instincts instead of carefully researched and parsed positions. They pretty much get in the same neighborhood but took different paths.

Having said that, Trump can also get distracted too easily, precisely because he relies too much on his own instincts and doesn't look before he leaps.

Bush, both Bushes for that matter, had their fingers in the wind too much, in my view.

Now make it really interesting

China has been secretly negotiating with west coast democrats (hello Newsome) and big tech and immediately recognizes the new California Republic and offers military aide and support. Canada and other pacific rim nations announce neutrality and recognize the CA republic.

This development is not recieved well by Texas and Florida who move to combine in to the Republic of Gulf states, bringing LA, MS, AL with them and become the new global capital of O&G production and quickly execute multi decades contracts to provide western and Central Europe LNG.

At this point the US Army stages a coup and POTUS is removed. What remains of Congress votes to allow states to remain in the union or migrate to eithe the Gulf Coast or California republics. States are even allowed to dissolve county by county and self determine.

Non aggression treaties are signed between the three countries but eventually the old US and the Gulf Republic will go to war with California once China has fully taken over and begins expanding east .

Malibu said:

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How did CA and TX team up? In the real world absent some weird event in the future they wont. I know that, you know that, the writer knows that, and so does every producer in Hollywood. If you make a movie based too much on the current political realities and overtly blame a large and highly populated portion of America, thats bad for business. So you focus on broader themes of divisiveness and how could this happen here in a willful suspension of belief movie.

And I for one think the explosions and theme look cool, as long as it skirts taking an overt stand on the issues of our day in a preachy eyerolling way, looks like a fun time.

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I think this is the point

the writer and director are not trying to make it a "look at Texas and Florida leading MAGA into revolt" but a theoretical event different from current reality

which is what we would want being republicans.

rgag12 said:

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I think they are teaming up TX and Cali to throw off any obvious connections to today's political landscape. No matter how hard they try though people will find things to grab and say they're favoring one side or the other.

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This 100%. Muddying the political water!

I just don't see how they would come up with a scenario where California and Texas would share enough common interest to align. The only thing that these two states share in common is population size. They are the two most populous. Perhaps a scenario built around this fact could be devised, but not sure what that might be.

Do you see enough common interest between the US and France, who has been an ally in many foreign excursions over the years? The Calexit and Texit movements have been some of the bigger "exit" movements across our country. What do divorce couples usually agree on? The fact that they both want out.

American Hardwood said:

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I just don't see how they would come up with a scenario where California and Texas would share enough common interest to align. The only thing that these two states share in common is population size. They are the two most populous. Perhaps a scenario built around this fact could be devised, but not sure what that might be.

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You are seeing California as the monolithic Dem state it is now. A few earthquakes could change that along the coastline and likely will at some point, whether that is decades from now or sooner.

Just a few lines in the movie on the massive earthquakes in Los Angeles and San Francisco could address that. According to the trailer, the US is already into a third term of the same President, so it is not set in current time.

Urban Ag said:

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Now make it really interesting

China has been secretly negotiating with west coast democrats (hello Newsome) and big tech and immediately recognizes the new California Republic and offers military aide and support. Canada and other pacific rim nations announce neutrality and recognize the CA republic.

This development is not recieved well by Texas and Florida who move to combine in to the Republic of Gulf states, bringing LA, MS, AL with them and become the new global capital of O&G production and quickly execute multi decades contracts to provide western and Central Europe LNG.

At this point the US Army stages a coup and POTUS is removed. What remains of Congress votes to allow states to remain in the union or migrate to eithe the Gulf Coast or California republics. States are even allowed to dissolve county by county and self determine.

Non aggression treaties are signed between the three countries but eventually the old US and the Gulf Republic will go to war with California once China has fully taken over and begins expanding east .

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Interesting ??? Now that is a plausible nightmare scenario. Cali or anyone should be nuked the minute they allowed a Chinese boot to land in North America. That is a nonstarter.

Chinese history dwarfs all nations in gallons of blood spilled. its not even close. Granted its almost always their own but they as a culture have no problem spilling blood. Cant even give that a chance.

Oh and why stop at MS, take all the Southeast all the way to Virginia and up to OH and IN That gives you a pop of 150 million and a GDP of $9T == to Germany and Japan combined. This would make a scary board or computer game.

Getting out is one thing. Forming an alliance afterwards is another.

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This would make a scary board or computer game.

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Never played Risk as a kid?

Well, something like that I suppose is plausible if not incredibly unlikely. If that was in the script, I would say it's lazy writing. It's like using time travel gimmicks to solve plot problems.

American Hardwood said:

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I just don't see how they would come up with a scenario where California and Texas would share enough common interest to align. The only thing that these two states share in common is population size. They are the two most populous. Perhaps a scenario built around this fact could be devised, but not sure what that might be.

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I know, that's what most people are having a hard time combining the two... but I see it like a sneaky backdoor chess move for California to latch onto Texas to attempt to "purple-ize" the Lone Star State. It creates distraction away from the Golden State's issues

aggiehawg said:

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Quote:

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This would make a scary board or computer game.

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Never played Risk as a kid?

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Yes. But Risk does not deal with population or GDP or critical industry, technology, and infrastructure . Im advocating a grown up game.

American Hardwood said:

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Well, something like that I suppose is plausible if not incredibly unlikely. If that was in the script, I would say it's lazy writing. It's like using time travel gimmicks to solve plot problems.

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Every dystopian novel or film uses a type of backstory to set a time frame. Part of the suspension of disbelief. It is a movie not a documentary.

True, but this one appears to be trying to sell a near future scenario of a plausible reality. Depending on a giant earthquake wiping out the liberal half of California is too much of a gimmick. This isn't really a science fiction movie like most dystopian stories.

ETA: Try this comparison:

Marvel writing team leader: How do we solve having Thanos wipe out half of the population of the universe.
Marvel writing team: I know! Time travel!

Civil War writing team leader: How do we solve getting Texas and California to form an alliance?
Civil War writing team: I know! A giant earthquake!

To me that's just lazy. Don't get me wrong, Hollywood is well practiced in this sort of thing and you could be entirely right. But I'm not betting on it for this one.

Dat gulf republic gonna be da king of college football, doe.

Blitz88 said:

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This is pure Democratic fear porn in advance of the 2024 presidential election.

BTW, that's a lot of painted index finger wrapped around that trigger.

Must be a new, non-binary shooting technique.

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you beat me to it. The timing of the movie dropping just ahead of the primary season isn't coincidental. Way too obvious