Twisters & the Myth of the Diverse Military Industrial Complex
Isaac Lee Chung’s Twisters sets the remake of the 1996 film Twister in the age of climate change, where storms are becoming progressively stronger and harder to track. The story follows Kate Carter, played by Daisy Edgar-Jones, a former stormchaser scarred by the loss of her friends returning to her home state of Oklahoma. She’s persuaded by her friend Javi, played by Anthony Ramos, to have her help him test out his new military grade technology from his startup. This startup is intended to gather storm data with the goal of helping people recover from disasters quicker.
The feeling of being lost immediately becomes apparent in the film, particularly with Kate’s career path as a meteorologist placing her in the safety of New York City, far from tornado country, but clearly unfulfilling. When reunited with Javi as he dropped by her office unannounced, Javi reveals that he joined the military out of a feeling of emptiness, being lost, and presents his startup to her.
A feeling of loss or desire for structure is a reason many people cite joining the military (often in tandem with the benefits). It is being increasingly advertised as a way to help solve the seemingly hopeless problems of the world to young people in tandem with the shameless promotion in low income schools. We see this with Javi, as his startup uses technology intended to gather information on missiles in a war zone to gather information on tornadoes. Ideally, this data is supposed to be used for research purposes to help communities and save lives. This commitment to community and collective wellbeing is integral to Latinx communities as well as other minorities, and the military capitalizes on this.
As with much military and police technology, it is often posed as a net positive for civilians of all backgrounds. Take the LAPD’s new robot dog, Spot; created by Boston Dynamics, Spot can open doors, pick up objects and drag up to 50 pounds. In this case, the robot is seen as beneficial for completing tasks that the average human police officer cannot, thus increasing productivity for the police department and safety for civilians, a win-win. Despite many claims of Spot representing safety and progress, for much of Los Angeles’s low income communities of color, the robot dog represents further militarization and surveillance by an already destructive entity. In the case of Twisters, it is revealed that the investors in Storm Par don’t care about protecting homes from tornado damage so much as further displacing people by purchasing the damaged land for a low cost and reselling it for exorbitantly high prices.
For many minority communities, including the Latinx community, doing jobs that are perceived as “selling out” are also seen as a way to climb up the hierarchy of capitalism while breaking generational curses of disenfranchisement and poverty. It’s a noble desire, a human one, to want better for oneself and their community. However, is it worth it to become the very cause or a further proponent of those very issues one seeks to escape? Despite initial attempts to justify and rationalize the truth behind his investors’ priorities, Javi eventually realizes the callousness of his team and the investors backing his project, and in turn decides to leave Storm Par behind. Many people in his position either don’t do this or simply don’t care enough to.
Recently, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas revealed that the Federal Emergency Management Agency does not have enough funding to last the remaining duration of the current hurricane season, while towns such as Ashville, North Carolina have already been absolutely decimated beyond repair while our government keeps funding foreign wars that contribute to the progression of these very disasters. The United States Military continues to be the single largest producer of greenhouse gasses in the world, accelerating the climate crisis in the name of preserving American capitalist interests at home and abroad.
Military ventures will not save us. Diverse military technology will not save us and make us safer. The United States Military will not save us from the devastating impacts of climate change. More importantly, it cannot be claimed as a “diversity win” to show off representation of Latinx people in the very military that is responsible for many of the issues that our community faces as a result of pollution and displacement in the name of imperialism. While I can’t imagine that Lee Chung’s casting of Anthony Ramos was done intentionally to make commentary on an issue that plagues many minority communities, it certainly did a successful job at it.