The Real Reason Why California and Texas Were on the Same Side in ‘Civil War’

It all makes sense once you realize the map distributed by A24 is a propaganda map.

Jesse Plemmons in Alex Garland’s epic war drama about a near future where the United States is at war with itself, Civil War (2024).

A much discussed aspect of marketing the dystopian thriller Civil War (2024) last year was the map of the United States that shows California and Texas had joined forces in the country’s second civil war. What could possibly cause a starkly liberal and a staunchly conservative state to be on the same side? This was never explicitly discussed in the movie, but Civil War does answer this question. It’s just not a very satisfying answer.

**Theory:** The *Civil War* map distributed by A24 is a propaganda map. It does not faithfully depict the “reality” of the civil war in the film.

The two states team up because an authoritarian political party takes over the country. It’s stated multiple times that the current president is in his third term. This means the ruling party has overturned (or is in violation of) the Constitution’s Twenty-second Amendment limiting presidents to two terms in office. In response, a number of states revolted.

Another important clue is that journalists are shot on sight in the capital, which means the ruling party is interested in blocking its populace from receiving accurate information about the war. This is also shown when characters discuss that the “victory” mentioned by the president is really just the Western Forces waiting until the ideal date of July 4th (Independence Day) to conduct their final assault on D.C., which will end the war.

In my opinion, California and Texas teaming up is a red herring created by the corrupt ruling party and given to the media to disseminate in order to encourage loyalty to the president and make the resistance appear as weak as possible.

It makes the most sense that all three groups of “non-loyal” states share the same goal: to free the United States from corrupt leadership. It is not just California and Texas teaming up, but many states revolting against those in power at the same time. They are just labelled in a way that makes them appear divided and weak for propaganda purposes.

Further reading:

Meet The Author

Chrissy Stockton

Chrissy is the co-founder of Creepy Catalog. She has over 10 years of experience writing about horror, a degree in philosophy and Reiki level II certification.