"Home is where the war is."
That's the hook for an upcoming video game called Homefront. The game's narrative is penned by John Milius, a conservative Hollywood writer who helped write Apocalypse Now and adapted Tom Clancy's novel to make (a far more enjoyable film) Clear and Present Danger.
The setting for Homefront is a modern historical fiction in which a series of events enables North Korea to successfully invade the United States a little over a decade from now. Obviously, not many people are seriously worried about such a scenario. But it's food for thought, and I wonder what y'all will make of it.
Here's the trailer:
Milius definitely gets one thing right. Young men have big dreams and big expectations. Kim Jong Il's son will undoubtedly seek to make use of his new authority.
Also, America has more to lose from EMPs and cyber attacks than any other nation.
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Aug '10
Re: "Home is where the war is."
You left out Conan and Red Dawn...RED DAWN!!!
May '10
Re: "Home is where the war is."
The 20-year incremental domination of the East that precede the EMP attack is completely implausible, since North Korea is and will remain dirt poor, but, I'm afraid, a one-hit attack on the U.S. by the Norks or Iran is possible in the not-too-distant future.
Not a bad way to make the case for missile defense to the youngsters.
May '10
Re: "Home is where the war is."
I have yet to see Red Dawn. From very brief clips I've seen, I had dismissed it. But if you're recommending it, I'll check it out.
It's a stretch, but I think the assumption is that North Korea assumes South Korea's sensible economics upon conquering the South... similar to how China took lessons from Hong Kong yet retains a brutal dictatorship. The United States would be in an awkward position in deciding what to do about our now-customary trading with South Korea.
But it's fiction. Someone on Ricochet pointed out a week or two ago a number of reasons why South Korea's military would probably mop the floor with the North.
Oh, and games aren't just for youngsters. ;) Think of it as interactive entertainment. Interactivity is all that necessarily separates "games" from films. Gradually, the industry is making room for serious fiction and thoughtful interaction.
Nov '10
Re: "Home is where the war is."
I guess we can go back to vacuum tubes instead of integrated circuits. Vacuum tubes are more resistant to EMP. Back to getto-blasters instead of IPods.
If we do get hit, all you musicians with old school amps will still be able to rock out.
Aug '10
Re: "Home is where the war is."
how are the adults going to access this apparently cool thing ?
May '10
Re: "Home is where the war is."
Aaron Miller
Oh, and games aren't just for youngsters. ;) Think of it as interactive entertainment. Interactivity is all that necessarily separates "games" from films. Gradually, the industry is making room for serious fiction and thoughtful interaction. · Dec 14 at 8:47pm
I know, and frankly my previous disdain for gaming has eased due primarily to your past comments: I have zero first-hand knowledge of the phenomenon, but your interest in it suggests it's not the brain-dead activity I'd assumed.
Aug '10
Re: "Home is where the war is."
I'm waiting for Amerida to be turned into a video game:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGQuRDjo7TI
Feb '10
Re: "Home is where the war is."
It's quite a ridiculous scenario overall.
However, North Korea does remain a threat to South Korea and to the world economy. The biggest threat they pose to us and to the world is that they are nuclear proliferators. Didn't Pakistan's nuclear program, among others, get North Korean help? And now Iran, who in turn is helping Venezuela. Meanwhile, other nations will feel they must also join the nuclear club to balance the scales of power.
Aug '10
Re: "Home is where the war is."
Dismissed Red Dawn?! Seriously?
Given that Homefront is essentially Red Dawn the video game, that is a shame. The major difference being one has North Koreans invade and the other has Russians invade. While I won't say that the film is high art, it is very entertaining. I don't know if you can actually call yourself an American conservative if you haven't seen the movie. The cast alone is worth a look -- Charlie Sheen, Patrick Swayze, C Thomas Howell, Jennifer Grey...
Wolverines!
Jul '10
Re: "Home is where the war is."
I like how Canada's lights stay on, eh?
May '10
Re: "Home is where the war is."
Yes, BSA, our sanctions of North Korea are obviously working so well.
Homefront also represents a recurring theme for Milius: war on American soil.
We have fought many wars over the past century, but they have all been fought overseas. WWII certainly had direct and severe effects on American citizens. German U-boats were sinking American ships along our coastlines and even came within a few miles of landing (my grandma can remember one being reported in Mobile Bay). But, for at least two or three generations now, war has been something that always happens "over there".
For my generation (1980) and younger people, even the Cold War is beyond our experience. Very few young American civilians have ever felt directly threatened by war. What are the effects of that? How will it affect American policy as my generation becomes more influential?
Thanks, admin, for embedding the video for me.
Aug '10
Re: "Home is where the war is."
Obviously, we borrowed sonic fence technology from The Dharma Initiative and used genetically-enhanced cyborg beavers to deploy it along the 49th parallel, thereby protecting us from any EMP damage. Obviously.
May '10
Re: "Home is where the war is."
Great to see John Milius return to storytelling after his years of being blacklisted in Hollywood. Oliver Stone has more than 15 films to his credit and John's only been able to make 7. I don't think they ever forgave him for making Red Dawn. Another sign the video game industry is taking over a stay-on-the-PC-message Hollywood.
Jul '10
Re: "Home is where the war is."
It is far-fetched, although still more plausible than the Russian invasion depicted in Modern Warfare 2 last year. For all that, though, MW2's depictions of pitched battles in the Virginia suburbs and D.C. were pretty gut-wrenching.
The differing interpretations of these games are interesting. I've heard MW2 dismissed as paranoid flag-waving jingoism, and praised as a bracing wake-up call that turns the tables on Americans who are cavalier about military action overseas by moving it into their backyard. (You can gather the political leanings of most game writers)
Don't forget former Pres. Carter's Nobel-winning intervention.
On a related note, I hope Homefront isn't lame. Especially given Milius' involvement, which I take as a hopeful sign.
May '10
Re: "Home is where the war is."
You guys do know that they did a remake of Red Dawn coming out in 2011, right? Even though I love my fellow Marylander Tom Clancy, Apocalypse Now was a much better than Clear and Present Danger at just about every level.
May '10
Re: "Home is where the war is."
Are we not at war with Islamo-fascists? Nearly 3000 people lost their lives at the hands of terrorists on American soil. I'm threatened by war. I stood on a rooftop in downtown DC and watched the Pentagon burn. I heard the explosion. I was a daily witness to the rebuilding. I sent my husband to war. I know folks who have lost limbs and sustained brain injuries fighting the war. The war is here. Are people so distracted or oblivious that they don't realize the real threats that exist?
May '10
Re: "Home is where the war is."
Karen, the Red Dawn remake is dead in the water, it was going to be released last year. The studio is either going to sit on it or release it in the dud-month of January.
I visited the WTC with my family a mere week before 9/11. Apart from a small percentage of my generation, most of us aren't invested, or interested in Truth, Justice and all that stuff. I've heard "9/11 was unique and won't be repeated" one too many times.
Ronald Reagan scared the young people more than the Soviet Union, which is why Hollywood has hated Stallone and John Milius for taking what turned out to be the winning side.
Edited on Dec 15, 2010 at 12:28pmAug '10
Re: "Home is where the war is."
Aaron Miller
Oh, and games aren't just for youngsters. ;) Think of it as interactive entertainment. Interactivity is all that necessarily separates "games" from films. ...
In the interest of full disclosure, I've been developing video games for the last 18 years.
Absolutely true - the median age of people playing video games is 35 (that's our primary market for consoles). I'm still not sure why there seems to be a prevailing opinion that it's for kids - sure, kids play, but with all the outlets that gaming has - especially now on peoples phones and within applications like facebook (Farmville anyone?), I suspect many people out there play one way or the other and just might not realize it.
As for games being brain-dead, I can't disagree more ... they're one of the most interactive entertainment experiences available. Granted you might not be interacting with a person, or with a person who's across the world from you (and that presents its own social issues for some), but it's a really engaging form of entertainment. Whereas TV and films, it's a one-way street - you're being told a story, rather than participating in one.
May '10
Re: "Home is where the war is."
Skid McBrick: I guess we can go back to vacuum tubes instead of integrated circuits. Vacuum tubes are more resistant to EMP. Back to getto-blasters instead of IPods.
If we do get hit, all you musicians with old school amps will still be able to rock out. · Dec 14 at 9:15pm
And at least data on CDs, DVDs will be OK. Now if only we can remember to keep the playback equipment in a Faraday cage.
May '10
Re: "Home is where the war is."
Anang:
I visited the WTC with my family a mere week before 9/11. Apart from a small percentage of my generation, most of us aren't invested, or interested in Truth, Justice and all that stuff. I've heard "9/11 was unique and won't be repeated" one too many times.
But don't people realize that's why we are in the Middle East? We are only cutting off the heads of the hydra. Some grow back, but that's all we can really hope for - buying us time here. I was at the Udvar-Hazy Center (Air and Space Museum near Dulles) a while back. Since 9/11 they make planes flying into Reagan National fly 10,000 ft. over Dulles so ATC's get a visual/contact before planes enter DC airspace. We saw a few. That, and a million other things are done every day to try to prevent another attack. In the weeks following 9/11, I heard a Congressional hearing addressing the scenario of the entire Legislative Branch being killed in a terrorist attack. People need to find a way to be invested, because their indifference will cost lives and produce chaos.
Edited on Dec 15, 2010 at 1:05pm