Don’t Be So Political: WARGAMES (1983)

Don’t Be So Political is a monthly film series that engages with  films through a political lens. Each screening is preceded by an  expert Q&A. Hosted by Zach Wortzman 

“Let’s play Global Thermonuclear War.”  

A tech savvy high schooler accidentally hacks into a military supercomputer sending the world to the  brink of World War Three.

At the height of the Cold War, in the middle of Reagan’s presidency, WarGames released and  introduced the world to a new threat: the vulnerabilities, both human and technological, of the  nuclear program. Credited as the first film to popularize computer hacking, WarGames explores the  consequences of trusting technology above humanity, the moral repercussions of automation, and  the effectiveness of Mutually Assured Destruction.  

The film preceded a 1983 false early warning which nearly led the Soviets to launch retaliatory  nuclear strikes at the US. And a later event, also in 1983, the Able Archer exercise, a war simulation  which the Soviets also perceived as an impending nuclear strike, nearly ended in nuclear war as well.  President Reagan, a friend of one of the screenwriters (Lasker), upon seeing the film revamped  America’s nuclear and cyber security.  

WarGames was nominated for three Academy Awards, debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, and  won the WGA Award for Best Original Screenplay.  (ZACH WORTZMAN) 

Part of the Don’t Be So Political series!

Cast/Crew Info
Director: John Badham | Cast: Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood, Ally Sheedy, Barry Corbin