Our ‘House of Dynamite’ will eventually blow

If you haven’t seen ‘A House of Dynamite’, this is a spoiler alert. But here’s another spoiler alert: nuclear deterrence does not and cannot work.

Kathryn Bigelow’s thought-provoking film has been assailed by nuclear hawks as inaccurate but their critiques are nitpicks compared to the terrifying reality she portrays: that when it comes to how to respond to an incoming nuclear missile, there are no good choices. That’s the point of the film — not what the fictional US president played by Idris Elba decides, but the impossibility of the choice itself. It’s a strong argument not to ever have to make that choice, which would mean stop living in that house of dynamite — in other words, abolish nuclear weapons.

The film, along with President Trump’s recent confusing blurt about testing nuclear weapons — and then his immediate (but still routine) test of an unarmed nuclear missile delivery system — have provoked headlines (and the Russians) but also provided the nuclear disarmament movement with some excellent teachable moments. Nuclear weapons are in the news and, through Trump’s headlines and the success of ‘A House of Dynamite’ (the most watched film currently on Netflix), millions are waking up and paying attention. Therefore, writes Beyond Nuclear’s international specialist, Linda Pentz Gunter, we should seize this chance to drive our nuclear abolition message home to a newly expanded audience.

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