WarGames

Analysis

WarGames was promoted as a cautionary tale about technology and the dangers of leaving machines in control of unleashing destruction, in an echo of the Doomsday device of '. Like other "Doomsday" movies at its core is a false premise. In this case the idea that a closed loop system can easily be penetrated by someone with a dial-up modem. It also generalized the idea of the Cold War period in the 1970s and 1980s that somewhere there was a "button" that when pressed would nuke the whole world away (the button, marked "LAUNCH", had several prominent close-ups), and its final sequence graphically demonstrated the concept of mutual assured destruction (MAD). Like other "Doomsday" movies it was produced for and used for advancing one side of the debate on nuclear disarmament. Also, it was one of the first movies to deal with teenage hackers and their activities.

Related Topics:
Cautionary tale - Cold War - 1970s - 1980s - Mutual assured destruction

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