Opinions

‘Zero Dark Thirty’ director does not advocate torture

“Zero Dark Thirty,” the compelling new drama detailing the U.S. government’s manhunt to locate and capture Osama bin Laden, is getting a great deal of notoriety; albeit, for all the wrong reasons.

The film, directed by Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow, is accused by some of taking a “pro-torture” stance due to the inclusion of numerous torture scenes in the first half-hour of the film.

While Bigelow has never come out in support of torture, there are some who believe that she included those scenes to suggest that torture led to bin Laden’s capture. Some, like Frank Bruni of the New York Times, claim that “No waterboarding, no Bin Laden: that’s what ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ appears to suggest.”

Other critics, like Peter Bergen of CNN, say that “Zero Dark Thirty” could “give its likely audience … the misleading picture that coercive interrogation techniques used by the CIA on Al-Qaeda detainees were essential to finding bin Laden.”

While I do not agree with the concept of torture, I actually applaud Bigelow for incorporating the gut-wrenching scenes in “Zero Dark Thirty.”

Bigelow’s message, as described in her open letter to the Los Angeles Times, was to include the torture scenes to show that “war, obviously, isn’t pretty… and we were not interested in portraying this military action as free of moral consequences.”

Bigelow’s inclusion of torture helps show how barbaric, vile and reprehensible the human race can actually be. The cruelties of torture are merely explored and detailed in this film, not recommended or praised.

In her letter, Bigelow suggested that those opposed to torture should complain to those who actually performed it, rather than the film that helped shed light on the horrible travesties.

While I acknowledge that the film could have been better suited as a documentary or a book, I find no fault in the profound questions it raises.

Questions of “Is torture ethical?” and “How do we hold onto our morals while in war?” are ones that desperately need to be asked. “Zero Dark Thirty” does that, although I find the rest of the film wholly boring and uninspiring.

It is unclear, and likely will be for a very long time, as to how many prisoners were tortured by Americans and what exact information was extracted.

When viewing the film, I believe that audiences will understand more of Bigelow’s message: that war is hell, and no one involved can escape its profound implications.

If audiences can’t understand that, then “Zero Dark Thirty” will likely continue as a lightning rod for controversy, something wholly unsubstantiated.

 

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.

Daily 49er newsletter

Instagram