I recently attended a human rights luncheon about the efficacy of torture. Among the many issues that were discussed, I still find myself thinking about one in particular, the role of torture in the media. For the past several years, the prevalence of torture in the media has been nagging at me. I was working at the FSU movie theater when the movie Saw came out, and I could barely stand to be in the same room as the preview. But Saw became a franchise, and spawned knockoffs such as the Hostel series. Critical movie critics soon dubbed it a new genre, a bit beyond your classic horror movie. For my part, I complained to anyone who would listen thesemovies had no reason being just Rated R, and certainly had no business being advertised on television.
But let's be honest, it wasn't just movies that were embracing torture as a new genre. Television jumped on the torture bandwagon as well. With Primetime Torture by HumanRightsFirst.org, I am happy to say that I now have a source which confirms my suspicions, that the amount of torture in the media greatly increased after 9/11. In addition, they make a very good point:
It used to be that only villains on television tortured. Today, “good guy” and heroic American characters torture — and this torture is depicted as necessary, effective and even patriotic. Primetime Torture.
It doesn't matter if this increase in torture in the media was a cause or an effect of a shift in public opinion toward the use of torture, it legitimizes and furthers the acceptance of torture. I won't go so far as to say that this is a deliberate propaganda technique, but you've got to admit that it is subtly reminiscent of the "Two Minutes Hate" in George Orwell's 1984.
Wake up America, we're better than that.
2 comments:
So torture is bad. It's true. It is morally repugnant, yields questionable information, and is a real life example of the ends not justifying the means... Oh, and is great fodder for bad TV. I do believe that torture is wrong, however let us look at the media examples provided by this video.
24 Hours, I mean come on! It's a terrible show, even people who like it admit it is a terrible show. Alias is also a terrible show, except having the fun twist of having an attractive woman dress up in various revealing outfits. Lost had the possibility of being a good show, and then got really bad. Best of all, this has been realized by the viewing public, and ratings have plummeted. Not only are people not watching Lost, they are losing the viewers who are watching it, because it is bad! "http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/01/in-season-5-los.html, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_(TV_series)#Ratings"
There is lots of bad TV out there. And there is also bad TV that makes fun of this bad TV. (Saturday Night Live, American Dad come to mind) As a culture, I dislike being stereotyped based on shows that I never watch, and represent the lowest common denominator of American television. And just food for thought, American Idol pulls in 2 or 3 times as many viewers as any of these other shows, and I'll never be a singer either. "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Idol#Television_ratings"
I agree that the TV examples were limited, that's why I tried expanding it to movies and commercials. It seems like I still see commercials for the Saw series with surprising regularity, and I don't even watch TV that much. Can you see a commercial involving torture while watching American Idol? Frankly I don't know because I don't watch it, but you get the point.
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