All In A Day Of Mr. Orwell
Bonita and I have been watching the fourth season of "24". I have been enjoying the action and the different cat and mouse scenarios.
But as I watch this season I have noticed a couple subtle messages being taught over the electronic air waves.
First, I noticed that whenever electronics and technology were used it was usually for the purpose of taking away peoples privacy...but it doesn't come across like this openly.
What we see is the marvel of tracking devices...Satellite cameras tracking citizens who have not yet been proven guilty of any crime...phone taps...tracking bugs...traffic cameras that take pictures of everyone's licence plates...and vehicle movement.
...Mr. Orwell's 1984 has nothing on this show.
Second, notice how many times American citizens are brought into CTU's dark room in the back, to give information or make confessions by the use of torture.
So much for pleading the 5th in these back rooms...no phone call, no lawyer...no innocent until proven guilty...just good ol' fashioned torture until you get what you want.
They must be reading up on their Stalin and Hitler handbooks for effective interrogation.
Are we being taught that the end justifies the means?
Even though torture is usually wrong...it becomes right when it is used for the right end?
I have been reading a book on Stalin...he tortured and killed millions of people to bring about his ideal of communism...the torture and death of all these people became "good" because it was used for the purpose of achieving his goals.
One of the subtle tricks that television plays on us is that it gives the viewer a type of divinity.
We watch the behind the scenes "dirty stuff" that even the characters in the show are not privy to. This means that "we" know that the dirt bag in the back room is guilty...we saw him in the last episode planning to plant the bomb or whatever slime ball activity he was doing...so when we see the torture instruments getting pulled out...we tend to justify it...because...hey the guy is guilty...right?
But in the eyes of Jack Bauer...or the other CTU agents...they didn't see the guy planning...they are just assuming his guilt...and violating his rights as a U.S citizen...as most of the viewers [many who are U.S citizens] nod their heads in approval...
I enjoy the show...I just despise the mental conditioning that comes along with the fourth season.
posted by Dale Callahan at 9:45 AM
1 Comments:
Very good points, Dale.
I recommended the first season of "24" to some friends. In fact, that may be how it started catching on among people from the church up there.
But I'm not so comfortable with it anymore. Yes, there's some exciting stuff. But, like you, I'm very uncomfortable with the torture and I wonder what the public is learning from it.
(I recently watched the five seasons of Alias and was shocked at how often the "good guys" tortured people to get information from them.)
As you say, we're privy to the bad guy's wickedness. We know he's guilty. But he hasn't been tried in a court. But we're supposed to cheer Jack on as he hurts the guy to make him talk.
Thought experiment: I'd probably blurt out something if Jack Bauer was torturing me. But if you really wanted to break me, you'd torture my wife or daughter.
Would fans of Jack Bauer draw the line here? Is it okay for Jack to torture this man who has not been proven guilty in order to get him to reveal crucial information? Or would it be okay for him to go further -- let's say, for him to torture the guy's little daughter until the guy reveals the plot that could lead to thousands of deaths? If the end justifies the means, then why bother breaking the guy's fingers? Start breaking his daughter's. Or ... is that going too far?
I may blog about this myself someday, but let this serve as my first withdrawal of my recommendation of 24. Thanks, Dale!
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