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Kathryn Bigelow on “Zero Dark Thirty”: “It’s illogical to ignore torture”

“I do wonder if some of the sentiments alternately expressed about the film might be more appropriately directed at those who instituted and ordered these US policies, as opposed to a motion picture that brings the story to the screen,” her piece continues. “Those of us who work in the arts know that depiction is not endorsement. If it was, no artist would be able to paint inhumane practices, no author could write about them, and no film-maker could delve into the thorny subjects of our time.

“This is an important principle to stand up for, and it bears repeating. For confusing depiction with endorsement is the first step toward chilling any American artist’s ability and right to shine a light on dark deeds, especially when those deeds are cloaked in layers of secrecy and government obfuscation. Indeed, I’m very proud to be part of a Hollywood community that has made searing war films part of its cinematic tradition. Clearly, none of those films would have been possible if directors from other eras had shied away from depicting the harsh realities of combat.

“On a practical and political level, it does seem illogical to me to make a case against torture by ignoring or denying the role it played in US counter-terrorism policy and practices.”

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Feeling some heat?

kim roy on January 16, 2013 at 3:02 PM

Pick up a history book and the author will do that samething but thousands of times.

Oil Can on January 16, 2013 at 3:03 PM

Liberals are such Perez Hilton hissy-fitters. Bigelow drew a line down the center and they just can’t stand it.

John the Libertarian on January 16, 2013 at 3:07 PM

The only thing liberals want to torture is logic.

Mr. D on January 16, 2013 at 3:08 PM

Sadly the movie would have gotten an academy nod if the torture scenes were followed by scenes of the CIA miffed that the waterboarding didn’t produce anything.

But adding pure FICTION to the movies would have only been done to let the libs live in their phoney fantasy lie of a world. Maybe making it factual will wake these idiots up to the reality that making sickos uncomfortable after we catch them actually produces hard info during interrogations.

Bensonofben on January 16, 2013 at 3:14 PM

Indeed, I’m very proud to be part of a Hollywood community that has made searing war films part of its cinematic tradition.

Yeah. Like Gung Ho! (1943) and Cowboy Commandos (1943) and Victory Through Air Power (1943) and a jillion other pro war films made when it was, y’know, fashionable to be pro war.

apostic on January 16, 2013 at 3:19 PM

Torture? Torture?

Now the Japanese in WWII, that was torture…

Special Japanese military units conducted experiments on civilians and POWs in China. One of the most infamous was Unit 731 under Shirō Ishii. Victims were subjected to experiments including but not limited to vivisection and amputations without anesthesia and testing of biological weapons. Anesthesia was not used because it was believed to affect results.
To determine the treatment of frostbite, prisoners were taken outside in freezing weather and left with exposed arms, periodically drenched with water until frozen solid. The arm was later amputated; the doctor would repeat the process on the victim’s upper arm to the shoulder. After both arms were gone, the doctors moved on to the legs until only a head and torso remained. The victim was then used for plague and pathogens experiments.

The major means of getting intelligence was to extract information by interrogating prisoners. Torture was an unavoidable necessity. Murdering and burying them follows naturally. You do it so you won’t be found out. I believed and acted this way because I was convinced of what I was doing. We carried out our duty as instructed by our masters. We did it for the sake of our country. From our filial obligation to our ancestors. On the battlefield, we never really considered the Chinese humans. When you’re winning, the losers look really miserable.

BTW,the last sentence could be Obama’s quote…

right2bright on January 16, 2013 at 3:20 PM

In the documentary movie “1941″ I recall that we used to torture the japs by putting a flatulent redneck in their submarines. The libs were silent when that spielberg movie came out.

Bensonofben on January 16, 2013 at 3:27 PM

Interestingly Juan McCain is a very outspoken critic of torture.

He may or may not have been tortured but he certainly talked.

His KGB codename was songbird. All high value detainees were handled by the KGB – no offense to the Vietnamese but they weren’t particularly good at interrogation and the KGB is (was).

CorporatePiggy on January 16, 2013 at 3:38 PM

Torture doesn’t work, just kill them by using drone stikes. ———- Barack Obama, President of the United States of America

SC.Charlie on January 16, 2013 at 4:05 PM

If Starbucks is out of their favorite ingredient, Libs deem that as torture. I’ve never understood the sensitivity Libs display toward waterboarded terrorists when used to save American lives.

jediwebdude on January 16, 2013 at 4:12 PM

watched zero dark thirty the other night. now i see why liberals hate it. the only clip of obama is him on tv in the background of a CIA meeting room railing against “torture”. This after the guys in the meeting got the bad guys talking from waterboarding. They sort of paused to watch the tv for a second and then had this “whatever” look on their faces. too funny.

The Count on January 16, 2013 at 4:21 PM