A House Of Dynamite Is Not A Documentary
Apparently, we need to explain to some people that A House of Dynamite did not actually happen.
I'm not sure who needs to hear this, and hopefully it's not someone in an important position of power within the military, but the new Netflix film A House of Dynamite is not a documentary. Everything that happens in the film is a work of fiction, and liberties are taken with events that may or may not occur in reality to heighten the drama. If the Pentagon were to get upset about the nuclear defense system not working in A House of Dynamite and it turned into a multi-day story that multiple news outlets are asking the cast and crew about, it would be as absurd as if in 1996 the Pentagon got upset about the nuke not taking down the alien ship or Randy Quaid's missile jamming in Independence Day.
If you're confused about whether or not this movie actually happened, here are a few subtle hints that can be used to tell you this is not a documentary:
Rebecca Ferguson is an actress, not an agent of the US government who oversees the Situation Room. Similarly, Anthony Ramos is not actually a Major in the US military, Greta Lee is not actually a government expert in US/North Korean diplomatic relations, Willa Fitzgerald is not actually a reporter for CNN, and (to my knowledge) Jonah Hauer-King does not actually carry the nuclear football around. These are all actors playing roles.
Idris Elba is not now nor has he ever been president. Despite the fact that he would probably do a better job than what's going on right now, he actually cannot be because he was not born in the United States.
The city of Chicago has not been nuked; the city is still standing and can be visited right now.
The Secretary of Defense is actually sober for the duration of the movie.
Whether or not a missile defense system would actually work, or would work within the accuracy that the movie says, is irrelevant. The failing of the missile defense system is a plot device because, as the movie explicitly says, if the system works the movie is over. It's about the decision-making process about how to respond in the event of a tragedy like that happening. There are plenty of complaints to be had about A House of Dynamite, but getting mad that the defense systems don't work in a movie where the conceit is "what if the defense systems don't work" is just stupid.
