Zero Day

Being on a summer break gives me an opportunity to catch up with some TV shows and movies. So, I just binge-watched Zero Day, a 6-episode political thriller produced by Netflix that is based on 2011 David Baldacci's book. Robert De Niro plays George Mullen, a former US president who was tasked with heading a special investigation commission after America experienced a one-minute cyber attack on computer systems that killed over 3,000 people and wreaked havoc on the country's infrastructure.

It is a good, solid political thriller that is a little too close to reality of Trump's America today. For that reason, it was at times hard to watch, the feeling that I also experienced when watching the 2024 Civil War movie. The big difference is that in both Civil War and Zero Day, the endings are, if not happy, at least hopeful that the country can correct its course. I'm not so sure about Trump 2.0 regime. In any case, here's my usual media literacy analysis of Zero Day:

1. Cognitive Dimension (What did I learn from the series?)

While the plot was somewhat predictable, there were still enough turns and twists keeping me interested. To start off, it was not clear several episodes into the series who the real perpetrator of the cyberattack was (although the Russian connection was the first obvious guess). And throughout the series, you learn a lot about the checks and balances and constitutional foundation of the presidential and prosecutorial power in emergency situations that may or may not require martial law. Quite a stimulating cognitive exercise overall.

2. Emotional dimension (How did the series make me feel?)

In brief, it made me feel anxious and angry. It is not exactly a dystopia because it is a political thriller after all, but a lot of its action felt too real and plausible, making my skin crawl and heart beating faster. There were some happy moments there as well, but most of the times it was like "What did they just do? How is that even possible? What would be the way to make this right and deal with the consequences?" It will keep you guessing, adding to anxiety. But again, in the end it will turn out alright.

3. Aesthetic dimension (What did I appreciate in the series about the way it was executed?)

I absolutely loved De Niro in it. He is definitely one of the best actors of his generation. The fact that he knows the true danger of Trump and the police state he is building makes De Niro's acting even more convincing. Another actor I absolutely enjoyed in this series is Dan Stevens (an eye candy from Downton Abbey as Matthew Crawley) who plays a political commentator, truth warrior and Youtube influencer (the poster below features him). You will immediately recognize Tucker Carlson in this character, and it gave me a particular pleasure to see the character's moral collapse. Also, I liked the overall aesthetic of the series with the darker background and ominous music, which reminded me of the House of Cards.

4. Moral dimension (What ethical and moral lessons does the series teach us?)

Depending on your ideological convictions, you will be able to find lots of moral messages in the series centering on the ideals of national unity in the face of an existential threat and the challenges it presents to individual rights to free speech and privacy, and many others. To me personally, the most compelling moral message was that of individual sacrifice for the benefit of many or the greater good: De Niro's character, former president Mullen (I don't think closeness to Muller is accidental) didn't have to come out of retirement to save the country. But he did, and the nation was ultimately thankful.

The idea of personal sacrifice and public service in the way the Founders originally conceived it seems a particularly important lesson at the time when most politicians and even SCOTUS have completely strayed away from the concept that they are there to serve the public. Public service is so out of vogue, it's all about serving the interests of your small group now, basically wealthy oligarchs duping everyone into believing they are there to do good. Will we survive this and correct the course? Zero Day will give you hope. Real life? - We'll have to fight and see.