White House under attack—A list of Hollywood movies

Gurnaaz Kaur & Sheetal

The Capitol Hill saw a terrible attack as a pro-Trump mob clashed with Capitol police during a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 US presidential election results. Five died and several got injured at the heart of American democracy in what is being termed as one of the worst security breaches in the US history. Though not on Capitol Hill, we have seen similar scenarios being recreated in cinema where the White House has come under attack. Here are some of those titles that will intrigue you as they show apocalyptic devastation of the president’s mansion or its residents.

Fallen from grace!: Angel Has Fallen (2019)

In this action-thriller film directed by Ric Roman Waugh, we see Gerard Butler playing the Secret Service agent Mike Banning, who is framed for the failed assassination attempt of US President Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman). He evades the FBI and his own agency to locate the real threat that’s lurking on the White House and prove his innocence. It is the third installment in Has Fallen series.

Tracing the traitor: G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)

A military science-fiction film directed by Jon M Chu, G.I. Joe Retaliation is based on Hasbro’s G.I. Joe toy, comic and media franchise and is second in the G.I. Joe film series. Channing Tatum, Dwayne Johnson and Bruce Willis are not only fighting their enemy Cobra but also a threat from within. There is an doppelganger in the White House and ‘the greatest American Heroes’ are being framed as traitor.

Down & out: White House Down (2013)

In director Roland Emmerich’s world from Olympus Has Fallen, the Oval House barely got time to rebuild from the Olympus Has Fallen when director Roland Emmerich’s apocalyptic devastation befell on it again in this one. Starring Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Maggie Gyllenhaal and others, it shows a massive terrorist attack on the White House.

Anti-intellectual stance: Idiocracy (2006)

A science-fiction comedy by Mike Judge shows a world that woke up 500 years post a hibernation experiment. In it, the human race is being run by anti-intellectuals, including the US president who was once a porn star. The look he gives to the White House is another trait to discuss. It stars Luke Wilson and Maya Rudolph.

Quite explosive: Designated Survivor (web series)

Straight from its pilot episode, this ABC’s TV drama was later converted to a Netflix series with Season 3 directly aired on the digital giant. It opens to an explosion at Capitol building, killing the president and everyone in succession on The State of The Union, it leaves the secretary of Housing and Urban Development as the designated survivor who is sworn in as the new president.