(Getty Images)
“It’s like poetry, they rhyme.” – George Lucas
There are decades which feel like weeks, and weeks that feel like decades. This is the latter. On Saturday, former President and now-Presidential candidate Donald Trump was shot in an assassination attempt during a rally that shocked the nation, which reminded me of the 2024 film “Civil War.”
The dystopian thriller is about a group of photojournalists traveling across a war-torn United States to secure an interview with the President of the United States before rebels take the capital city. This puts them right on the frontlines of the conflict that has divided the country — the federal government versus the secessionist. The main point of the film is not about what led to the conflict, but the search for the perfect picture, the money shot, the “Oprah” shot, etc.
Enter Pulitzer prize-winning photojournalist and MMA fighter, Evan Vucci, the man who got the image of former president Trump being tackled by his Secret Service, fist and head up in the air, ear bleeding, and has an American flag waving in the background. Even though this image is very provocative and evokes feelings of power, it doesn’t take away that the person in the frame was a man who mocked a disabled reporter, has 34 felony charges, and was caught on tape speaking on how he could get away with shooting a person in broad daylight.
If anything, these events divided our country more than unifying us. While we may not see something on the scale of Alex Garland’s film, it is important to know that the image is the story now. We live in a country where the symbolism overwrites the rules. It doesn’t matter what is true or false, but what makes one feel. The tides are changing, and it is up to Gen Z to choose if they will either stand for something or fall for anything.
Guillermo Guzman (he/him/they) is a Texas-based nerd who loves talking about video games, autism, and entertainment. Follow him on Instagram: @boofy_booferson and X: @Dimpy_Tenders.
Edited by Nykeya Woods