Diksha Sundriyal
In Netflix’s ‘A House of Dynamite,’ an impossible situation presents itself when a nuclear missile is launched towards a major American city. Told over three sections which cover the same stretch of time, the film gives us differing perspectives as the missile makes its way towards its target. The third section follows from the point of view of the President of the United States, who is attending a basketball event when he is made aware of the situation. As the missile continues on its trajectory, a major question is raised: how should the President react to this attack, especially when he doesn’t even know who the attacker is? While explaining the options, his military aide tells him about MA07 and MA09, and asks him to make a choice that could change the course of the world. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Two Options Presented to the President Go From Bad to Worse
From the discovery of the missile to it hitting its target, there is only an eighteen or so minutes window, during which time, efforts are made to stop it in its tracks. Once that fails, it falls on the President to decide on an appropriate response. An attack of a nuclear scale means that the retaliation must be the same or stronger, but at the same time, acting hastily can do much more damage. It is a ‘Sophie’s Choice’ sort of situation, where whatever he chooses to do will still result in a tragedy. Despite a few voices who tell him to exercise caution, most advise him to retaliate as soon as possible. His military advisor hands him a book that lists all the options he has when it comes to the targets.
He first describes the categories, in his own words, as medium, rare, and well-done. And then, in the well-done categories, there are MA07 and MA09. In the end, he tells the President to choose one of them. The final frame has the President seriously considering one of those options as he is prodded to give an order. He has already given the code to access the device. Now, they only need to know which targets to hit. From the red color on the pages, it is clear that MA07 and MA09 refer to the worst-case scenario. While the aide, Lieutenant Commander Robert Reeves, doesn’t describe exactly what the targets would be, he says that exercising this option will end the problem once and for all.
Right before this, the President talks about nuclear weapons in the world in terms of a house full of dynamite, which can be lit with just a spark and bring the whole thing down. In that case, the spark has already been lit, and the world is bound to come crashing down. It seems that with the choices Reeves has put in front of him, the fire will burn out quicker, destroying all the dynamite, bringing the world back to the way it was before. In that context, the MA07 and MA09 options most likely refer to the nuclear bases of other countries. Instead of attacking the cities, which would only lead to the loss of civilians and do nothing to dampen the enemy’s power, attacking their bases would weaken them to a great extent. And while there will be a greater loss, it would put a quicker end to the war, giving some people a chance for survival.
The President’s Choice Remains Intentionally Unresolved
With the pressure mounting on the President to make a decision, the tension builds till the final moment of the story. However, instead of giving us a concrete answer as to what he chose to do, the film leaves us with uncertainty. Considering that he has already given his code to access the nuclear weapons, it seems that the President has done half the work. Now, he just needs to tell them the targets, and then he and everyone else can watch the world burn. But until he gives specific orders about the targets, the decision remains uncertain, and the hesitation that he displays since finding out about the attack suggests that he may already be having cold feet.
He could still abort the mission and give himself more time to think. But we never find that out, because the filmmakers intended to leave that choice with the audience. As becomes evident with every passing minute of the film, the people in charge of these monumental decisions are still, at the end of the day, normal people. They are aware of the power their position allows them, but exercising that power is a different thing. The President talks about it when he says that the whole point of carrying the briefcase with the codes and the files featuring all the attack options is meant to be just for show. It is to scare the enemies, and the best-case scenario means that it should never be used.
He also talks about how he has been briefed about this situation only once, so he doesn’t even really know what’s in the file, which is why Reeves follows him around everywhere. So, while the President is equipped to deal with high-pressure situations, leading the world towards its end via a nuclear war is still highly unprecedented for him. With that, the film leaves the audience to decide what they would do if they were in the President’s shoes, opening the floor for a debate that the film was made to spark all along.
Read More: A House of Dynamite: Who Fired the Missile?
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