Torture works on “24″
Fascinating article in this week’s New Yorker about the creator of “24″ and his views on torture
Jane Mayer reports that military officials recently met with the producers of “24″ to express concern about the way torture is depicted on the show. It seems people who have actually studied torture and other interrogations techniques don’t really think the infliction of physical pain is effective. (The White House and the Department of Defense apparently disagree on this) And they are concerned because 15 million viewers (including a lot of soldiers apparently) tune in every week to see Jack Bauer and his buddies at CTU using torture to glean information vital to national security.
Since the publication of the New Yorker article, the mainstream press has run articles reporting the meeting.
Very interesting.
Mayer’s story is essentially a feature on Joel Surnow, the show’s main creator, who aptly points out that it’s easier in LA to come as a “gay” than it is to come out as “conservative.” (Ed’s note: As an intolerant Catholic lefty I find both repugnant.)
He also notes that he is in the process of developing a show entitled “The Half Hour News Hour,” a satirical news program (modeled after the Daily Show) that will air on Fox News. I really can’t wait for that.
Surnow says: “There are so many targets, from Global warming to banning tag on the playground. There is a lot of low-hanging fruit.”
Also noteworthy is that the pilot for “24″ was written in 2000. I had always assumed it was a post 9/11 kind of thing.
Anyway, i note this story mostly because i include “24″ in the important cultural benchmarks that will define this period in American history years from now. “24,” “American Idol” and the “Jackson Nipple Super Bowl” seems to define a certain nexus of American despair that has come to define this decade.