Barack and Michelle Obama’s apocalyptic thriller ‘Leave the World Behind’ shot to Netflix’s number one spot since being released on 8 December.
The two-hour and 20-minute flick is an adaptation of a 2020 novel by Rumaan Alam with the same name and boasts a star-studded cast including Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Kevin Bacon and Ethan Hawke.
The book was written well after the BRICS bloc of emerging economies was formed and was produced by a former United States president and first lady. Not just any former first couple, the Obamas.
Racial dynamics
Julia Roberts plays a wife and mum of two who suddenly decides it is time for a family holiday after being trapped in the daily, mundane cycle of work-home-repeat.
Her character, Amanda Sandford, rents a stunning upmarket holiday home just outside of bustling New York City. The family is blissfully unaware of the impending doom in the form of an aggressive cyber attack unfolding on the main island.
Here’s where it gets frightening: Every form of communication and all the modern comforts and conveniences afforded by the digital era are wiped out of commission.
As the effects of the cyber attacks unfold, a suit-clad black man and his daughter show up at the rented holiday home, claiming to be its owners.
Roberts does a fantastic job nailing down the uncomfortable racial undertones behind her character’s interrogation of the alleged homeowner, played by Ali.
Her character found the well-dressed black man and his young adult daughter more suspicious and dangerous than the mysterious oil tanker that beached on Long Island on day one of the vacation.
Two families, black and white, are then forced to share the home (with the black people sleeping in the basement of their own home) when the characters realise America is under attack.
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America gets attacked, usual suspects are to blame
Watching this movie as a BRICS citizen gives you more than a few eye-rolling moments.
The usual stereotypical blame game for their predicament begins as the characters try to assemble pieces of the puzzle without the internet or any form of news.
They are left pondering if the advanced weapons, a supersonic, deafening and debilitating sound wave, was the brainchild of the Chinese or Koreans.
Ali’s character, who seems to have limited access to the world’s wealthiest dealers and businesses, begins to jog his memory for warning signs of the attack in the financial world.
The Russians are referenced in the context of ‘getting their people out of New York’ before the cyber attack was launched. The last reference was the Arabic writing on flyers that were airdropped on Long Island as New York was being bombed.
The film’s message: America had pissed off the rest of the world and was no longer the world’s controlling superpower with weapons of mass destruction. Other countries (at least two of which are from the BRICS bloc) have the potential to derail US national security and incite civil war.
What made it scary was the fact that the Obamas, former White House occupants, produced the movie. It comes as BRICS nations are collectively moving away from Western hegemony and trading in US dollars, not to mention at least 45 ongoing armed conflicts in the Middle East, Africa and Ukraine.
People who have the luxury of watching this movie are not affected by any form of war, but the flick did bring the terror and helplessness associated with an enemy attack into our homes.
It may be a work of fiction, but it’s not inconceivable that world governments, be it BRICS or the West, possess weapons advanced enough to stop people in their tracks with ear-splitting sound waves that might lead to all your teeth falling off. Or technology so advanced it causes all of Tesla’s EVs to self-drive to destruction.
Nearly every apocalyptic movie plot centres around two facts|: One, the rich and powerful always know what’s coming, and two, they have a plan and the means to survive.
While the rest of us plebs, running the rat race and living in densely populated cities, are the first casualties when country leaders can’t agree and start wars.
Rating:8/10
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