lauren%LBL-CSAM@vortex.UUCP (06/22/83)
From: Lauren Weinstein <vortex!lauren@LBL-CSAM> In my humble opinion, the film "Wargames" is a good example of the sort of "pseudo-technical" crap that gives people unrealistically negative views of computers and the people who work with them. Without giving away too many plot details (if anybody really cares), the basic "gimmick" in the movie is stolen directly from "Colossus: The Forbin Project", with the addition of a generic computer "whiz kid". Anybody with slightly more than a passing familiarity with computers and/or the manner in which the U.S. missile systems are controlled should find the film to be totally ridiculous. Basically, the film throws together many concepts which might seem "plausible" to the average person but which in reality are just plain unrealistic. A few of these "concepts" include: 1) A Super-Computer controlling all missiles, which cannot be reasonably bypassed, and was programmed by one guy. This person is no longer around, nobody else understands the software, but it's still being used anyway. Maybe this is the case for some of our mail systems (?!?) but not for military systems! 2) Dialup lines into classified computer networks. Non-crypto data communications in general classified use. Simply untrue. 3) Door crypto-locks that look like Touch-Tone pads, and actually emit audible touch tones (which can be played back to open the door!) Gimme a break! 4) Payphones whose microphones can be easily unscrewed and which can be easily "ground-started". (Suuuuuure... This isn't 1966 you know!) This by no means completes the list. I won't even mention the typical silliness of data rates much faster than possible with the modems in use. (Oooops! I mentioned it!) I will avoid qualifying the incredibly inane ending of this film with any sort of mention at all, other than to say that it is *indeed* stupid and totally ridiculous. As you can see, what we have here are a bunch of concepts that may "seem" plausible to many people. Everybody has heard of high school students breaking into computers -- so why not a classified computer network that controls missiles? The fact that no computers are in "control" of missiles in that manner, and the fact that classified systems of that sort do not have dialup lines and make heavy use of encrypted communications, has been conveniently overlooked for the sake of dramatic effect. Likewise, people have "heard" that there are (were) "simple" ways to defeat payphones, and everyone KNOWS that pushbutton pads always emit tones, right? So security keypads have to work the same way, right? Poppycock! If films like "Wargames" didn't aspire to be carrying a deep and meaningful "message", they might be enjoyable in much the same manner as "Little Shop of Horrors". But "Wargames" is so blatant in its warping of technology for the sake of "impact" that it cannot be excused. Not only that, but interviews with some of the film's top production staff have made it clear that they "feel" they were presenting only a *slightly* exaggerated scenerio. At least one wire service writer went out interviewing NORAD officials to try find out if "Wargames" was realistic. When this writer confronted the "Wargames" staff with the NORAD discussion of non-remote-access facilities, encrypted communications, and the like, the "Wargames" people simply responded with (something to the effect of): "We all know that no computer is completely secure, so something like this could happen"; a statement which is very misleading for the case in question. "Wargames" is a transparent attempt to "cash in" on pseudo-science while promoting an anti-war message. I have no gripes (in general) with films which desire to present a meaningful message, nor do I necessarily disagree with the concept that the current nuclear missile "arrangement" between the superpowers is terribly dangerous and in need of change. However, in my opinion, it would have been possible to create a film that managed to get such a message across (perhaps by portraying some of the "real" dangers in the system, such as sensor failure combined with human error) rather than create a totally unrealistic situation (presumably because it held more "drama" and would be more easily "understood" by the vast masses without any significant explanation). "Wargames" is essentially an exploitation film, which, to quote the priest in "Harold and Maude", "... makes me want ... to vomit." --Lauren-- P.S. I've been fuming about this movie ever since a friend of mine came back from a very early screening over at the MGM lot and provided me with the first details. Now that I've gotten these complaints off my chest, I feel much better. Thanks all! --LW--
lauren@LBL-CSAM@vortex.UUCP (08/09/83)
From: Lauren Weinstein <vortex!lauren@LBL-CSAM> I've never claimed that there aren't (or haven't been) other films that have "misrepresented" reality in a manner that would confuse some percentage of the audience. However, if some dummies want to panic over "Jaws", that's of little real import. However, when a film plays this same game (no pun intended) with a subject matter of vital importance to all of us (nuclear war) and also with a subject matter with which I am professionally involved (computers) then I reserve my right to yell "foul". Nobody is forced to agree with me. --Lauren-- P.S. There have been movies that fell into the "misrepresentation" class but still served a potentially good purpose. "Towering Inferno" and "Earthquake", for example, though both unrealistic in many important respects, did show some pretty clear rules for how to deal with certain situations. For example, in "Earthquake", it was made obvious that you shouldn't run out of a building during a quake (you may be hit by falling debris) and that trying to ride an elevator down during a quake is a really bad idea. Yes, the sort of elevator failure shown probably couldn't happen, but the safety concept is valid in any case. "Wargames" didn't give us any rules or suggestions for dealing with the "real life" situations with which it was dealing. If anything, it promoted various illegal activities and made a hero out of the culprit. --LW--