Why Civil War resonates with me and why we need more films like it

I first heard about Civil War through someone in class who suggested I go and watch it because it was related to my field of study (journalism). At first I was a bit optimistic. How could this movie, presumably about war, be related to journalism?

I love a good war film so I figured, what the hell, might as well go and watch it. I assumed the movie was about, well, a civil war, so at least I would get to see a movie about the impending doom of a likely corrupt government.

However, when I went to see the movie I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, the film was about a Civil War and yes it featured lots of fighting. However, it also featured a unique angle that I haven’t seen from any other war movies.

Civil War, directed by Alex Garand, came out in 2024. The movie follows four journalists in a time when the United States is involved in an all out Civil War. The Western Forces from California and Texas are attempting to overthrow the United States Government.

Kirsten Dunst plays Lee, a seasoned photojournalist, who along with Joel (Wagner Moura), Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson) and Jessie (Cailee Spaeny) are trying to get an interview with the besieged president of the United States.

Rather than just focusing on the war, Civil War goes deeper. Through the lens of the four journalists, it explores the human reaction to the horrors that come with war. Each character has different reactions to what they are experiencing. For example, Jessie is an inexperienced photographer, so a lot of the violence and destruction going on around her is something she has never experienced before.

As a recently graduated journalism student, I can relate to Jessie’s struggles stepping out of her comfort zone and taking a risk in order to experience something new.

I’m not directly comparing myself to Jessie, because well, she’s in an active war zone and I’m graduating school. Not exactly the same thing. But it can be scary going from the comfort of school into an industry where you aren’t sure what comes next, similar to how Jessie is experiencing the things that come with being a photojournalist in a warzone, it’s unpredictable and anything can happen.

This is the first scene where we really see Jessie face the reality of war and the dangers it can pose as a photojournalist. This was a very symbolic scene to me because Lee shows her concern for Jessie after she is hit in the face by a police officer who is trying to contain the crowd. Lee’s concern for Jessie hinted to me that Lee, despite her reluctance at first, will sort of take Jessie under her wing and take care of her.

While covering a protest, Lee meets Jessie, an up-and-coming photojournalist, who is also there covering the event. After a bomb goes off at the protest, Lee lectures Jessie about not having a helmet or protective clothing on. Lee gives Jessie her yellow press jacket, telling her to always wear it whenever she’s out covering an event. Later on, Lee heads back to her hotel where she reunites with Jessie. Jessie reveals to Lee that she is her inspiration for wanting to become a photojournalist. Lee is hesitant about whether she thinks the young Jessie can handle the dangers of war-time journalism.

The next morning, as Lee, Joel and Sammy prepare to embark on a mission to interview the president in Washington, DC, Lee is surprised to see that Jessie has made her way into the group, much to her displeasure. In the end, Lee agrees that the group will take Jessie along with them, but only as far as Pittsburgh (or so she thought)

As the group embarks on their journey, they end up running into two Western Forces Soldiers, who begin to question them about where they are coming from.

This was one of the most intense scenes of the movie. The pure chaos of this scene had my adrenaline pumping and my heart racing.I felt like at this point I had developed a connection with Jessie, so seeing her at gunpoint had me stressed out.

It also displays an issue that is very real in our society, which is journalists being caught in the middle of wars. Being a journalist, especially a photojournalist, you often have to put yourself in risky or potentially unsafe situations. In the news, we often see stories about journalists being killed while covering conflicts across the world. This scene depicts exactly that. As the group is questioned by the soldiers about “What kind of Americans they are” (referring to where their loyalties lie in the conflict) two of them end up being killed before the rest manage to escape.

The reason I focused on Jessie’s story is because I found it relatable. Similar to Jessie, I am an up-and-coming journalist looking to break into a new industry, so I feel a connection to her (luckily I’m not covering a civil war - yet lol)

I’ve never thought about becoming a photojournalist, and after seeing the stress and mental toll it takes on Jessie and the rest of the group, I’m not sure I’d want to. But I can appreciate being able to relate to a character that is trying to break into a new industry.

Seeing Jessie experience the horrors of war for the first time adds a great personal touch to the film, seeing how she reacts to the ongoing conflict and the things she is subject to adds a sense of humanity to the film, which separates it from other war movies.

Jessie is also a very relatable character, because I’m sure we’ve all been in situations where we have to step out of our comfort zone or put ourselves in risky situations.

Seeing her progression throughout the film sets her apart from the other characters. In the beginning Jessie is a nervous and inexperienced photojournalist, but as the film progresses she begins to learn more from Lee about how to be a great photojournalist. Her transformation was definitely an underrated part of the film.

Don’t get me wrong, all the other characters are important, but Jessie is the most unique in terms of her story line.

Another thing that I like about the film is the aspect of the morality of being a photojournalist. While they don’t directly touch on it in the film, it's definitely prevalent. As a photojournalist, the number one rule is you aren’t supposed to interfere with the people you are capturing, which brings up the question of morals.

When you see someone get shot and killed, or you see a bombing, is it morally wrong to take pictures instead of help? As a human being, when you see someone injured, your gut instinct is to drop what you are doing to help them.

As a journalist, however, you may want to help them but you may not always be able to. Especially as a photojournalist, you are not supposed to interfere with a photo you are taking as it could disrupt the “natural” feeling of the photo.

This is the struggle that photojournalists go through on a daily basis, so it’s an interesting aspect of the film. We do see it touched on briefly towards the end, in what I think is one of the most memorable scenes in the show. As the Western Forces are infiltrating the White House, Jessie sees an opportunity for a good photo. Lee notices a secret service agent around the corner about to shoot Jessie, and without hesitation jumps in front of the bullet and ends up being killed. Instead of trying to help Lee, Jessie ends up taking a picture of Lee as she falls to the ground. I do wish they had touched on it more though, because it’s one of the most common discussions among photojournalists.

This scene also shows the inhumane side of war and how it causes people to become desensitised. As Lee is lying on the floor, motionless, Joel doesn't seem phased or aware of the fact that his friend has just been killed. Instead he quickly helps Jessie to her feet and continues on down the hall as if nothing happened.

I remember back in school we had a class which taught us about photojournalism, and we were taught about the morality of not being allowed to help people who we photograph. One of the examples I vividly remember, due to the extreme nature of it, we were told about a photojournalist who had taken an infamous photo of a child starving to death, with a vulture nearby waiting for the child to starve. So it’s definitely a real issue among photojournalists, and it really makes you think about the moral side of war and journalism.

I like war movies, so even if this had just been a movie with lots of fighting and conflict, I would have enjoyed it. The decision to have the film focus on photo journalists covering a large scale conflict, however, adds a whole new level of enjoyment for me. I enjoy seeing the psychological and mental side of covering a traumatic event like a war being explored. It felt fresh, compared to most war movies where you just see the same story line of some war happening between two countries and someone winning in the end.

Photography is a key story telling method, just like film, and it’s a key part of Journalism. Without photography, we wouldn’t be able to document key moments in history for not only future generations, but to hold current generations accountable.

Having a movie that shines a light on a profession that I am familiar with really makes me more interested in the film. We need more films like Civil War that show that in war, it’s not all about the people fighting. There’s other aspects of everyday life that are affected by it.