Sunday, December 23, 2012

Zero Dark Thirty and torture

I plan to see this film, since as a film it's getting great reviews and Oscar buzz. Plus I loved The Hurt Locker. But there has been much debate that torture was portrayed as having a direct link to finding bin Laden, which just ain't true. As but one of several examples, see this fine review by Alex Gibney questioning this portrayal. He starts off by noting that Senators Carl Levin, Dianne Feinstein and John McCain wrote a letter to the producers claiming that such portrayal perpetuated the myth of torture's effectiveness. And the Senate Intelligence Committee's own report showed torture did not lead to bin Laden. Gibney explores in depth the facts, and how the producers of ZD30 were biased by the views of those in the CIA who favor torture but granted significant access to other factual details of the investigation. While I still want to see it as a good film, I must agree with those that criticize the producers for not showing the much more overwhelming evidence refuting the efficacy of torture.

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