Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another might be packaged as an action/comedy thriller with one of the world’s biggest stars, but it also has a lot to say about the state of America and the government. The French 75’s revolutionaries are trying to spark change as politicians and the armed forces are imprisoning immigrants, inciting violence, and more.
The story mostly revolves around the heroes of this revolution, who refuse to let an authoritarian government rule without any pushback. While we’re endeared to Bob (Leonardo DiCaprio), Willa (Chase Infiniti), and Sergio (Benicio Del Toro), PTA is also purposeful in showing Lockjaw’s (Sean Penn) chase to be accepted by the Christmas Adventurers Club, which has unmistakable roots in white supremacy.
Taking this approach allows the film’s true themes and what PTA really wanted to say about the state of the country to crystallize by One Battle After Another‘s ending. Yet, a moment much earlier in the film with Lockjaw has a small detail that adds even more layers to the version of America featured here.
We get to see firsthand how he’s celebrated by the government after he helps catch Perfidia (Teyana Taylor) and coerces her into ratting out many of her fellow revolutionaries. Their deaths are celebrated by Lockjaw and his superiors, with the Colonel even receiving an award, the Bedford Forrest Medal of Honor. This medal reshapes a lot of One Battle After Another.
Who Is Nathan Bedford Forrest? Why One Battle After Another Names A Medal After Him
The significance of Lockjaw receiving the Bedford Forrest Medal of Honor could go over most viewers’ heads; admittedly, I was among them. Many might ᴀssume that this is a real medal handed out by the American government or one that PTA invented for the film that has no deeper meaning.
This could not be further from the truth. The medal is named after Nathan Bedford Forrest, a real-life general during the Civil War who served the Confederate States for the entire four years. Before this, he was a slave trader. But, his post-war career led him to become the first Grand Wizard of the earliest version of the Ku Klux Klan.
The KKK began in 1865, with Forrest reportedly becoming an early member of the hate group in 1866. He was then appointed as the Klan’s leader in 1867, taking the тιтle of Grand Wizard after becoming known as “The Wizard of the Saddle” during the Civil War.
After two years of hatred, violence, and terrorist acts under his leadership, Forrest dissolved the Klan in 1869. It ultimately returned in the 1900s, grew in size, and widened the scope of who they should target as being non-American.
Forrest Gump previously referenced Nathan Bedford Forrest, with this being the man Forrest was named after.
Due to his deplorable actions and affiliation, there is no real Bedford Forrest Medal of Honor in America. The government and military have never rewarded someone with something named after the KKK’s first Grand Wizard.
However, an award directly tied to Forrest does exist in the KKK. The highest honor that a Klansmember could receive was the Hero’s Cross, which had the Grand Wizard’s face engraved on it. This is essentially the closest real-life parallel to the medal Lockjaw received in One Battle After Another.
The movie doesn’t spend any time providing this backstory on Nathan Bedford Forrest, leaving it up to audiences to pick up on this detail and have some understanding of his affiliation with the KKK. PTA could have chosen any real figure to name this award after, but the implications of this decision for One Battle After Another make sense.
What One Battle After Another’s Nathan Bedford Forrest Connection Reveals About The Movie
It’s no secret that a big part of One Battle After Another is about fighting back against authoritarianism, with Lockjaw and the Christmas Adventurers Club being clear representations of white supremacists and how their hate-driven ideology can shape the world. This isn’t always played seriously, with many of the CAC’s meetings satirically tackling them.
The Bedford Forrest Medal of Honor is a minor detail that has no significant bearing on the story. Still, it is incredibly revealing when it comes to this version of America. Instead of white supremacy being kept behind closed doors and acted upon in the shadows, as is the case with the Christmas Adventurers Club, this medal suggests America and its leaders are more openly aligned with this worldview.
Nobody would be willing to reward an “honor” with KKK connections, typically, much less have that tie be as blatant as using the name of the group’s first leader. This could suggest an alternate history for America in this world, one where the Civil War played out differently. Or, it might just be a sign that the KKK’s ways became more widely accepted than in reality, making Forrest a more recognizable figure in history.
Either way, PTA’s movie does not shy away from depicting the American government as essentially a bigger version of white supremacy. This is not a coincidence. It’s a response to the increase in hate crimes (via FBI dashboard), hate speech online (via PLOS ONE study), and white supremacist propaganda (via Anti-Defamation League).
One Battle After Another doesn’t take its political view above the military level, but it doesn’t need to to make its point. PTA’s film is very much a commentary on the current state of the nation, despite its near-future setting, as well as a rallying cry to a new generation to create a better tomorrow.
Most of this is clear even without noticing the Nathan Bedford Forrest connection. But including that detail really just drives home what One Battle After Another wants to communicate about America.
