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24, torture and prime-time US television
An article in the February 14 issue of the New Yorker magazine describes an extraordinary meeting that took place in Hollywood in mid-November 2006. David Danzig of Human Rights First and other participants took to task writers and producers for their depiction of torture on the popular Fox television series 24. For several years the show’s writers have made sadistic portrayals central to fueling “an addictive, adrenaline-fueled thriller,” as the show is hyped on one of its DVD jackets.
The series’ protagonist, Jack Bauer, is played by actor Kiefer Sutherland. He works for the Los Angeles bureau of a fictional federal agency, the Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU). The show relentlessly portrays Bauer initiating torture against designated enemies of the state. He races around Los Angeles playing out various “ticking time bomb” scenarios. Unthinkable (and implausible) consequences such as the nuclear annihilation of the city are averted through Bauer’s ruthless actions.
What made the Hollywood meeting particularly unusual were concerns like those voiced by the dean of the US Military Academy at West Point and several former American government interrogators. Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan is a lawyer who has for a number of years taught a course on the laws of war to West Point senior cadets. He said 24 was exceptionally popular with his students and told the New Yorker’s Jane Mayer, “The kids see it, and say, ‘If torture is wrong, what about 24?’”
His description of experiences in the academy’s classrooms was confirmed by Gary Solis, another retired law professor who designed and taught the Law of War for Commanders curriculum at West Point. He told Mayer that his students embrace the fictional Bauer’s motto, “whatever it takes.”
Mayer also quoted Tony Lagouranis, a former US Army interrogator at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, describing the show’s effect in the field. “Everyone wanted to be a Hollywood interrogator. That’s all people did in Iraq was watch DVDs of television shows and movies. What we learned in military schools didn’t apply anymore.”
Concerns about the effect of the show on international audiences were also raised. The show is broadcast on television and distributed on DVD in numerous countries. Finnegan told the producers that 24, by suggesting that the American government perpetrates myriad forms of torture, hurts the country’s image internationally.
Torture scenarios now permeate US television
Other participants in the November meeting presented chilling statistics about the growing incidence of violence and torture on television dramas. The Parents Television Council reports on their web site that Fox’s 24 showed 67 scenes of torture in the first five seasons, making it number one in torture depictions. They reviewed prime-time broadcast programming from 1995 to 2001, finding 110 scenes of torture. From 2002 to 2005, the number increased to 624 such scenes.
More
http://wsws.org/articles/2007/mar2007/twen-m14.shtml
What made the Hollywood meeting particularly unusual were concerns like those voiced by the dean of the US Military Academy at West Point and several former American government interrogators. Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan is a lawyer who has for a number of years taught a course on the laws of war to West Point senior cadets. He said 24 was exceptionally popular with his students and told the New Yorker’s Jane Mayer, “The kids see it, and say, ‘If torture is wrong, what about 24?’”
His description of experiences in the academy’s classrooms was confirmed by Gary Solis, another retired law professor who designed and taught the Law of War for Commanders curriculum at West Point. He told Mayer that his students embrace the fictional Bauer’s motto, “whatever it takes.”
Mayer also quoted Tony Lagouranis, a former US Army interrogator at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, describing the show’s effect in the field. “Everyone wanted to be a Hollywood interrogator. That’s all people did in Iraq was watch DVDs of television shows and movies. What we learned in military schools didn’t apply anymore.”
Concerns about the effect of the show on international audiences were also raised. The show is broadcast on television and distributed on DVD in numerous countries. Finnegan told the producers that 24, by suggesting that the American government perpetrates myriad forms of torture, hurts the country’s image internationally.
Torture scenarios now permeate US television
Other participants in the November meeting presented chilling statistics about the growing incidence of violence and torture on television dramas. The Parents Television Council reports on their web site that Fox’s 24 showed 67 scenes of torture in the first five seasons, making it number one in torture depictions. They reviewed prime-time broadcast programming from 1995 to 2001, finding 110 scenes of torture. From 2002 to 2005, the number increased to 624 such scenes.
More
http://wsws.org/articles/2007/mar2007/twen-m14.shtml
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