Donald Trump’s administration once again targeted Hollywood, this time for a Netflix production that combines espionage, geopolitics and a critical look—although in a fictional way—on the role of the United States in the world. The film, “A House Full of Dynamite”, directed by Kathryn Bigelow and starring Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson and Anthony Ramos, became one of the most viewed films on the platform in the region and, at the same time, a cause of concern for the Pentagon.
The plot revolves around the 18 minutes prior to the possible impact of an anonymous intercontinental ballistic missile in Chicago, narrated from three perspectives: the nuclear defense team, the president deciding the world’s destiny, and emergency communications. The story, which mixes action scenes with diplomatic tensions and a portrait of officials under pressure, was read by sectors of the Pentagon as a distortion of nuclear deterrence protocols. In the film, power is portrayed as vulnerable to trivial human errors, with senior military commanders characterized in a cartoonish manner. An uncomfortable mirror.
From Washington they described the film as “cartoonish” and warned that it “conveys the impression that the nuclear arms control system is vulnerable to trivial human errors,” minimizing its rigor and suggesting that it generates unfounded distrust in the strategic capacity of the United States. But behind the annoyance there is something deeper: the fear that a piece of entertainment amplifies, in a global way, the image of a fragile nuclear defense system exposed to failures. In a reconstruction context of international influence and high strategic sensitivity, any cultural representation can become a symbolic battle piece.
Netflix avoided responding to the controversy. The company kept the film in prominent promotion. For the public, the story works as a contemporary thriller with elegant aesthetics and sustained rhythm; For the American defense, it is another example of the terrain where part of the power is disputed today: the screen.
In times where fiction and politics intersect, even a script designed to entertain can become a strategic problem. The Pentagon understood this quickly. And this time, the culture war came via streaming.
