Carry-On: The TSA, Copaganda, and the Military Industrial Complex

Carry-On, the 2024 Thriller that's been perched at or near the top of Netflix's top ten movies in America for the past couple of weeks, is about a sociopath blackmailing a TSA agent into letting a chemical weapon through airport security. At least that's what it says on the tin.

It's a Netflix-grade Die Hard 2 knock off with a couple of good action sequences and a satisfying cat-and-mouse game between TSA officer Ethan Kopek, played by Taron Egerton, and the "Traveler" played by Jason Bateman. If you look under the surface a bit you will see a lot of undercurrents typical of the genre.

Just as an endless parade of action movies, crime dramas and thrillers have done for the police and the military throughout the history of Hollywood this film tries to polish the image of the TSA. TSA officers, the film assures the viewer, are more than just slaughterhouse workers herding sheep from one line to the next. They're a somewhat cynical but generally jolly bunch just doing their jobs. On the other hand Kopek's career is portrayed as his consolation prize for failing to make the cut at the LAPD. So airport security is good and all but the police force is where real heroes work. That's copaganda for you.

Warning: spoilers incoming.

The film keeps its focus on the immediate concern of a bad guy trying to do a terrorism so the viewer doesn't have to think too much about the rather absurd plot going on in the background. I'm not talking about the airport bathroom that looks more like it belongs in a Walmart than in LAX, and that somehow has such low traffic that there's no one in there when Kopek closes it. That the threat of the nerve agent could have apparently been nullified just by shutting it in a refrigerator doesn't bother me. It's easy enough to ignore those details and just enjoy the ride. That's what I recommend doing if you're going to watch this.

It's the motivations behind the whole crazy scheme that makes the plot absurd. A Congresswoman has been pushing a bill to increase US military presence around the world but hasn't been able to get it passed. So private defense contractors hire the Traveler to release a Russian nerve agent onboard a plane carrying the Congresswoman. Everyone will blame Russia and public outrage will ensure the bill becomes law.

This is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.

First, there's just one member of Congress trying to push this agenda? Really? Just the one? Second, this single Congresswoman is having a hard time getting support for more military spending? What? We're talking about the United States, right? This is the same government that already funds military operations all over the world, right? The same country that has military bases in more than 80 countries?

You're telling me that the Unite States Congress needs a dramatic false flag operation framing the Russians to get the public on board with spending more money on the defense budget. Now THAT is absurd.