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I’ve never seen one episode of 24.
This is not the result of an aversion to violence, or a protest of terror-related plots. No, I’m just holding out for the right time. Like that one present you hide Christmas morning, waiting patiently to open when everyone else is done. If ever I find myself hopelessly unemployed or battling mono, I’ll be prepared entertainment-wise. Other programs in this category include The Wire and seasons nine through seventeen of The Simpsons.
But let’s get back to 24. In particular, the recent New Yorker story by Jane Mayer about the U.S. Army linking Jack Bauer to Abu Ghraib.
This past November, U.S. Army Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan, the dean of the United States Military Academy at West Point, flew to Southern California to meet with the creative team behind 24. Finnegan, who was accompanied by three of the most experienced military and F.B.I. interrogators in the country, arrived on the set as the crew was filming.
Finnegan and the others had come to voice their concern that the show’s central political premise – that the letter of American law must be sacrificed for the country’s security – was having a toxic effect. In their view, the show promoted unethical and illegal behavior and had adversely affected the training and performance of real American soldiers. “I’d like them to stop,” Finnegan said of the show’s producers. “They should do a show where torture backfires.”
It had become increasingly hard [for Finnegan] to convince some cadets that America had to respect the rule of law and human rights, even when terrorists did not. One reason for the growing resistance, he suggested, was misperceptions spread by 24, which was exceptionally popular with his students. As he told me, “The kids see it, and say, ‘If torture is wrong, what about 24?’ ” He continued, “The disturbing thing is that although torture may cause Jack Bauer some angst, it is always the patriotic thing to do.”
The creative team was not convinced. Now feels like the time I should weigh in with commentary. But like I said, I’ve never seen the show.
[Thanks to Justin for saying, “Hey, did you read that New Yorker article about torture and 24?”]
Comments (5)
Comment
Seriously, don’t wait to watch The Wire. 24 kinda sucks after season 1, but The Wire is quality through all 4 seasons (so far).
posted by jan on 2-28-2007 at 12:04 pm
Like the show or not, it is fantasy. Not reality. I have more concern with the fact that there are cadets who don’t know the difference. Not a stable mindset for starting a military career.
posted by Steve S on 2-28-2007 at 12:40 pm
Steve, I’m with you on this. Being able to tell the difference between real and fake seems important for someone who will be charged with the use of deadly weapons.
posted by punkinsmom on 2-28-2007 at 1:23 pm
Did the army visit Silvester Stallone about the Rambo movies?
Cadets might have gotten the impression that they could shoot two M-16’s simultaneously (one on each arm) while taking on the entire army of a third-world county and carrying a wounded buddy? Do they get a lot of copy-cats for that?
I watch 24 religiously, but much of it stretches credulity so far that I laugh at the army suits for taking it seriously.
posted by n2y2 on 2-28-2007 at 2:16 pm
Hypothetical:
Your in charge of a platoon during the Viet Nam war. You get a call on the radio that another platoon a mile away has been caught in an ambush and you have to get their to save them. If you don’t, they will all likely be killed.
The problem is the mindfield between you and them. A local farmer knows the way through but he’s not willing to tell you (he doesn’t like Americans).
You could hold a gun to his head…that would get him to talk (torture). A couple of broken fingers would get him to talk as well (torture). Either of those solutions WOULD save 20 American lives.
As an officer in the Army, you can’t do either. You asked the farmer to help, he said ‘NO’.
What can you do then? Go around, which will cost American lives…or go through, which will cost American lives.
Don’t reduce this problem to an ‘unstable mindset’ amongst cadets. When the popular opinion is that torture is okay at certain times, then everyone will start to believe it, cadets included. From the situation I just described, it’s not a stretch to say that a lot of people would start breaking civilian’s fingers in certain situations.
Now, if you take that situation and put it on one of the most popular TV shows in American…and Jack Bauer starts breaking the fingers of a terrorist, it’s not unreasonable to sway public opinion towards torture.
Cadets don’t believe that 24 is ‘real’, and they certainly don’t have an unstable mindset. But, they are people with opinions that can change.
And by the way, the Army didn’t need to talk to Sly about the Rambo movies. It’s hard to convince a cadet…or anyone, that running through a camp of 100 North Veitnamese with an M-60 at your hip is anything short of suicide.
- Drew
West Point class of ‘97.
posted by Drew on 3-1-2007 at 9:04 am