"When
they are in pain, people will say anything to get the pain to stop. Most of the
time, they will lie, make up anything to make you stop hurting them, that means
the information you're getting is useless…[it’s al-Qaeda's] way, not the
American way."
– Ali
Soufan, former FBI special agent & most successful U.S. interrogator
of
al-Qaeda operatives
“Those
subjected to physical torture usually conceive undying hatred for their
torturers.”
-An editorial in the Vancouver Sun
“One must
therefore also consider the greater likelihood that American civilians (here or
especially abroad) and American troops overseas will be subject to torture (or
terror) by aggrieved enemies.”
“Sometimes the
consequences of torture are worse than intended, as when victims die
prematurely due to the physical or mental toll. From a utilitarian perspective
the main problem here is that a dead person cannot give you any information
whatsoever.”
-An article by Heimer in Opposing
Views
In the
eight season run of 24… Jack Bauer kills
269 people and in its first five seasons there were 67 scenes of torture—more
than any other show on television.
______________________________________________________________________
HOW
then does the show 24 get us to root
for Jack Bauer, the hero of the show, in which he tortures?? How are we
convinced that torture is seemingly okay? Or that it works? How does this show have
influence on us and inform our values? The idea portrayed in 24 is that it is the best means
available to protect the millions of people who live in the United States of
America and thus necessary. It is the greatest good for the greatest amount of
people and the ends will always justify the means. The show 24 relies on the value of justice to
legitimize questionable behaviors, such as torture and killing, in the name of
national security.
The
show justifies Bauer’s divisive tactics with a classic ideology: justice. Bauer
advocates for violence in order to achieve justice, a widely shared social
value. The word justice and it’s implications for us as U.S citizens warrants
the use of torture and excuses his behavior which otherwise might be seen as
unacceptable. There is an obligation to justice that cancels out the need to
explain or define Bauer’s questionable behavior. The justice label provides the
illusion of protection in the show 24
by showing positive outcomes where hundreds of lives are being saved. Justice
is therefore irresistible. Being tied to this strongly American ideal permits
any means necessary to achieving and maintaining it. At least this is how Jack
Bauer thinks and persuades other characters to think the same way.
Furthermore,
24 romanticizes violence. You find
yourself rooting for Bauer when he tortures the victim (he always has the right
bad guy and always extracts needed intelligence). Then you look at the
other agents in comparison, who don’t want to physically and/or psychologically torture and don’t agree with his tactics and you might think to yourself that
they are wimps or softies. They never get the same results with non-violent,
legal ways and it ends with lost time and lost lives. There is barely ever an
episode where they decide not to use torture and they get a positive outcome.
How
can we be against torture tactics when it’s protecting innocent lives and
preventing national disasters at the cost of one terrorist or evil man’s pain?
The show suggests it’s almost un-American if we disagree with these tactics. It
does this through positive outcomes for the country as a whole, protecting our
security and safety, and through the convincing discourse, beliefs, and bad-ass-ness
of Jack Bauer. He saves the day in the end and is a glorified hero. His
character is a very seductive one. Plus, all the people in the show eventually revert
to the use of torture anyways: partaking in it, or coming to be okay with it as
an instrument to achieve the desired end goal. Even the characters that were
strongly against torture from the very beginning: Senator Mayer, Renee, and
Tony are just a few examples of characters that changed their minds.
But
what about other American values- like equality for everyone? Respecting the
law? And human rights? Should this reach out to terrorists as well? They are
human beings too. Even though the show portrays them as the un-human-like bad guys (which desensitizes audiences to violence). The representations of torture as necessary
and effective have provoked substantial criticism from human rights campaigners,
military bureaucrats, professionals in questioning and interrogation, and even
from fans of the television series. Consequently, the PTC (Parents Television
Council) threw a campaign in attempt to encourage sponsors to discontinue
buying airtime for 24, saying
it was the worst offender on TV.
Even
so, through the use of stereotyping (purposeful or not) and racial hierarchies
(intended or not), audience members can alleviate some of the guilty feelings
that arise with torture. In Evelyn Alsultany’s article,
Challenging Stereotypes, she says
that “most Arab and Muslim terrorists in films or in television shows before
9/11 were stock villains, one dimensional bad guys” and there is a “persistent
unquestioned assumption in these TV dramas that Arabs and Muslims are
terrorists or linked to terrorism.” The article suggest that if there is an
Arab/Muslim terrorist threat in the storyline or plot of the show that audience
members might see the Arab/Muslim character in the show as the bad guy and thus
more open to the torture they receive. The majority of audience members see
Arab/Muslim characters as Islamic extremists because they a.) stereotype
the characters but also b.) stereotype the show and the plot itself. They do so by believing that most likely that the turn of events is going to end up with an Islamic extremist as the bad guy
and Jack as the hero. What’s interesting is that this show is seen around the
world. So then I pose the question of how does this show inform the world about
America and our values?
In response to this, the 24
team wanted to make clear that it’s a fiction
television show not created to be taken seriously or to accurately represent
life, reality, or how the American system actually works. They are not sending
any underlying messages or re-prioritizing our values. Even Kiefer Sutherland,
the actor who plays Jack Bauer, says the show is “fantastical” meaning
imaginative or remote from reality. Sutherland says that torture is used as a
“dramatic devise” to show the urgency of dire situations in the plot. The
Department of Defense in an attempt to state that their behavior is far
different than what is shown in 24 says, “Our policy is to treat detainees humanely.
Our men and women who handle detainee operations are professionals. They
understand the difference between a TV show and reality.” (Commander Jeffrey Gordon)
-Watch
this interview where Kiefer Sutherland talks about torture: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-lLv4iR2ps
Yet somehow, this television show is not only teaching,
influencing, and informing the norms and values of the fan culture, but also U.S.
soldiers. Let me repeat that. TV is influencing U.S. soldiers. CNN gave a news
report that soldiers are now starting to copy some of Bauer’s violent tactics
to procure information. How is Jack Bauer, a fictional character, teaching
torture tactics (say that 3x fast!) to U.S. soldiers? The answer: the valuing
of justice. It’s all because the payoff is greater: more lives are being saved,
“quality” lives are being saved (like the President of the U.S. in 24), nuclear disasters and breaches in
security prevented, deaths of American soldiers avenged, and American values
protected. Plus, at the end of the day, being like Jack Bauer, means being the
hero…and most likely winning the fancies of a hot babe too. 24 influencing our soldiers shows the
power TV can have in creating our values, especially a hugely successful and
popular show like this one. It is impacting our government, our armies, and our
world.
The news
report from CNN on 24’s power over U.S. soldiers:
To sum up my argument I leave you with a
part of 24. It is season 7 episode 2 in a senate hearing; after it was established that Bauer tortured a man. Jack and Senator Mayer argue the core opposing beliefs of
this controversy.
Sen. Mayer: My only agenda is to get to the truth
Jack Bauer: I don’t think it is sir.
SM: Excuse me?
JB: Abraham Hadad had targeted a bus
carrying 45 people 10 of which were children… the truth Senator is I stopped
that attack from happening.
SM: By torturing Mr. Hadad!
JB: By doing what I deemed necessary to
protect innocent lives!
SM: So basically what you’re saying Mr.
Bauer is that the ends justify the means and that you are above the law.
Is torture effective? The show says yes.
Reality says no. Fictional characters say torture achieves justice and
therefore peace. Real life people believe it… do you?
Works Cited
Heimer, J. “Torture Risks Negative Consequences At Many Levels.” Opposing Views.
Web. Feb. 2014. http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/torture-risks-negative-consequences-at-many-levels
“Is 24’s Jack
Bauer Teaching Torture to U.S. Soldiers?” CNN.
YouTube, 8 March 2007.
Web.
Feb. 2014.
“Kiefer Sutherland/Jack
Bauer Lays Out His Views on Torture.” YouTube, 8 July 2011.
Web.
Feb. 2014.
Inc., 24 Apr. 2009. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0%2C8599%2C1893679%2C00.html.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.