The Wargame Is Wretched Propaganda
The new docudrama The Wargame imagines Britain responding to a Russian military attack. Its cast is full of real-life politicians — often figures with ties to the weapons industry using the show to demand more money for the armed forces.
Sky TV’s “The Wargame” features Tory, Labour, and Scottish nationalist leaders joining together to insist on the need to raise weapons spending. It’s a show of elite unity in which doubtful public opinion is cast as a mere inconvenience. (Sky Studios)
Politicians are often accused of playing toy soldiers. Rarely, however, do they actually do it. The Wargame is an exception. Sky TV’s new four-part docudrama, which features a cast of prominent former ministers and securocrats, follows the British government as it responds to an imminent attack from Russia. Described by GQ magazine as “the most terrifying show” of the year, events escalate throughout the production and conclude with the fictional cabinet stationed safely in a secure bunker while the rest of the country faces the possibility of nuclear annihilation.
Despite its attempt at sincerity, bolstered by visual effects showing missiles raining down on London, the absurdity of the program gives The Wargame a certain comic character. Having tried and failed to become British prime minister back in 2017, Michael Gove, a leading Tory, achieves his lifelong ambition, but only for four hours in a Sky TV drama. His fictional deputy, Nicola Sturgeon, a Scottish nationalist, expresses no qualms about sitting atop the state she has been nominally committed to breaking up for most of her adult life. Foreign Secretary Jim Murphy, meanwhile, is hung out to dry in attempting to placate the US State Department after spending years justifying the war on terror as a New Labour minister. Tempting as it may be to dismiss the show as a well-paid retirement activity for a collection of career politicians, The Wargame’s true motivations are far more sinister.
War Footing
“This is not real,” warn the opening credits, “but it could be.” Britain, the show’s narrative implies, is not ready for possible war. The problem is simple: the nation does not spend enough on the navy or the air force to fend off a foreign attack and must change course urgently. The Wargame’s cast, however, are far more than just bad actors with an opinion.
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