The Second Civil War (1997): The Jolt Cola War

By Cliff Potts, CSO, and Editor-in-Chief of WPS News

Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines — March 18, 2026, 10:05 p.m. PHST

Earlier this month WPS News published a full review of the 1997 HBO satire The Second Civil War. That article covers the film itself. This short follow-up looks at something else I noticed while watching it.

The background details.

Because once you start noticing them, the movie becomes even more ridiculous than it already is.

The Jolt Cola War

At some point during the film I began noticing a very specific brand appearing over and over again: Jolt Cola.

If you remember the 1990s, you remember Jolt. “All the sugar and twice the caffeine.”

And apparently that caffeine is powering the Idaho side of this fictional political crisis.

The Idaho militia members are drinking Jolt Cola. The bottles show up repeatedly in militia scenes. At one point the governor himself has an empty Jolt Cola bottle sitting nearby during a quiet moment at home.

Not a can, either.

It’s one of those familiar 20-ounce plastic bottles, the kind that used to sit in every convenience-store cooler in America.

Once you notice it the first time, you start spotting it everywhere.

McDonald’s on the Idaho Front

Jolt Cola isn’t the only thing fueling the Idaho side of the standoff.

McDonald’s wrappers and bags appear repeatedly in the same scenes. They show up around militia members and in the governor’s orbit while everyone argues about the unfolding crisis.

The result is unintentionally perfect.

In theory the country is drifting toward a constitutional confrontation between a state government and Washington.

In practice the Idaho side of the conflict appears to be running almost entirely on fast food and caffeine.

The Darkest Joke in the Movie

And then there’s the detail that might be the sharpest piece of satire in the entire film.

The Pakistani refugee children arriving in the United States are wearing matching shirts. On the back of those shirts is a phone number:

1-900-ORPHANS

For anyone who remembers the 1990s, that’s a brutal joke.

Back then, 1-900 numbers were premium phone lines used for contests, promotions, and all kinds of questionable marketing schemes. You called the number and the charge appeared on your phone bill.

Seeing “1-900-ORPHANS” printed on the backs of refugee children turns the entire crisis into something that looks like a marketing gimmick.

It’s a blink-and-you-miss-it detail, but it might be the most cutting satire in the entire movie.

Daytime Television Diplomacy

There is another running gag in the film that keeps popping up in the dialogue: the repeated mention of the long-running daytime soap opera All My Children.

Characters refer to it more than once, almost casually, as if the unfolding political crisis is simply another form of daytime drama playing out on television.

That joke lands especially well because the movie itself is built like a television spectacle. The networks are chasing ratings, politicians are reacting to coverage, and the entire country seems to be watching events unfold like an episode of a soap opera.

In that sense, the references to All My Children are not random. They reinforce the film’s central idea that modern politics can look an awful lot like serialized television.

A Perfectly 1990s Time Capsule

Watching The Second Civil War today, these background details turn the film into an unexpected time capsule of the late 1990s.

Jolt Cola bottles. McDonald’s wrappers. A dark joke about 900-number promotions. Repeated references to daytime television.

None of those details drive the story, but once you notice them they add another layer to the absurdity.

Which is fitting, because the movie is already a satire about how politics, media, and spectacle can spiral into something ridiculous.

The film’s ending, however, is anything but ridiculous. It lands with a sharp turn that reminds the viewer that beneath the satire is something far more serious.

It’s a stark ending.

And it’s one that viewers should probably see for themselves.

For more social commentary, please see Occupy 2.5 at https://Occupy25.com

References
Dante, J. (Director). (1997). The Second Civil War [Film]. HBO.
Internet Movie Database. (n.d.). The Second Civil War (1997). IMDb.com.
Rotten Tomatoes. (n.d.). The Second Civil War (1997). RottenTomatoes.com.