Abstract
According to the PBS programme Frontline in 2015 (and what appeared in 2012/13 to be the majority of film, journalistic and political critics), the film Zero Dark Thirty was uniquely responsible for putting forward the CIA’s version of the story that so-called enhanced interrogation techniques led to the assassination of Osama bin Laden and in so doing made sure that ‘the effectiveness of the EIT program was firmly fixed in the minds of millions of Americans’ (Kirk et al., Frontline: Secrets, Politics and Torture, Boston: Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) May 19, 2015 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/government-elections-politics/secrets-politics-and-torture/transcript-83/ (accessed September 27, 2015)).
This article uses a semiotic approach to explore the textual aspects of Zero Dark Thirty in order to review the director Kathryn Bigelow’s complex messages which may also be providing a viewpoint within the film which examines the immorality of such torture techniques and supports the idea that where torture is concerned, the ends can never justify the means.
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Notes
- 1.
Kirk, Michael, Jim Gilmore, and Mike Wiser, Frontline: Secrets, Politics and Torture, Boston: Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), May 19, 2015.
- 2.
CQ Transcriptions. President Obama Delivers Remarks to State Department Employees: Washington DC: The Washington Post, January 22, 2009.
- 3.
Mazzetti, Mark. Senate Panel Faults C.I.A. Over Brutality and Deceit in Terrorism Interrogations. New York, New York: The New York Times, December 10, 2014.
- 4.
Tenet, George, Porter Goss, Michael Hayden, John McLaughlin, Albert Calland, and Stephan Kappes. Ex-CIA Directors: Interrogations Saved Lives, New York, New York: The Wall Street Journal, December 10, 2014.
- 5.
Tenet et al. 2014.
- 6.
And most notably political commentator Glenn Greenwald in the Guardian—who was widely quoted at the time—before he had even seen the film. (Greenwald, Glenn, Zero Dark Thirty: new torture-glorifying film wins raves, London: The Guardian, December 10, 2012).
- 7.
Kirk et al. 2015.
- 8.
Mazzetti 2014.
- 9.
Filkins, Dexter, Bin Laden, the Movie, New York, New York: The New Yorker, December 17, 2012.
- 10.
Boal, Mark, Bigelow, Kathryn, Ellison, Megan, Zero Dark Thirty, Los Angeles: Sony Pictures, 2012.
- 11.
Filkins 2012.
- 12.
Kirk et al. 2015.
- 13.
Zakarin, Jordan, Senate Drops ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ Probe, Los Angeles: The Hollywood Reporter, February 25, 2013.
- 14.
Goodwin, Christopher, Does this point to a defence of torture, London: Sunday Times. January 13, 2013.
- 15.
Carruthers, Susan, Zero Dark Thirty, New York, New York: Cineaste, Spring 2013.
- 16.
Goodwin 2013.
- 17.
Filkins 2012.
- 18.
Goodwin 2013.
- 19.
Dargis, Manohla, and Scott, A. O., Confronting the Fact of Fiction and the Fiction of Fact, New York, New York: New York Times, February 22, 2013.
- 20.
Mayer, Jane, Zero Conscience in “Zero Dark Thirty”, New York, New York: The New Yorker, December 14, 2012.
- 21.
Filkins 2012.
- 22.
Casetti, Francesco, Inside the Gaze: The Fiction Film and Its Spectator, Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1998, pp. 9, 2, 8.
- 23.
Casetti 1998, p. 9.
- 24.
Casetti 1998, p. 2.
- 25.
Casetti 1998, p. 2.
- 26.
Casetti 1998, p. 8.
- 27.
States News Service, Two Thumbs Down at Fordham Law Panel on Zero Dark Thirty Torture, January 28, 2013.
- 28.
Winter, Jessica, and Rothman, Lily, Art of Darkness, New York, New York: Time Magazine, February 4, 2013.
- 29.
Goldman, Michael, The Worlds Most Wanted Man, Los Angeles, California: American Cinematographer, February 2013.
- 30.
Kirk et al. 2015.
- 31.
As Carruthers points out: “‘Kill him for me,’ she instructs the squad leader who is duly steeled by her conviction. That this uncritical embrace of assassination as a tool of statecraft should have passed entirely unremarked in the brouhaha surrounding Zero Dark Thirty tells us a good deal about the new normal in an era of secret kill- lists and escalating drone strikes” Carruthers 2013.
- 32.
Ranciere, Jacques, The Emancipated Spectator. Translated by Gregory Elliott, London, London: Verso, 2009.
- 33.
Sarat, Austin, et al. Scenes of Execution: Spectatorship, Political Responsibility, and State Killing in American Film: Law & Social Inquiry (American Bar Foundation): Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Summer 2014.
- 34.
Goldman 2013.
- 35.
Goldman 2013.
- 36.
For a fuller discussion on the role of the viewer in watching a scene of execution see “Scenes of Execution: Spectatorship, Political Responsibility and State Killing in American Film”: “Is the viewer dominant, imposing his perspective, perhaps critiquing the film? Or is he subject to it, transfixed by it, and at the mercy of the reality it presents? Is he in some way a participant, a witness who aught to be held accountable for his role?”… (Sarat et al. 2014).
- 37.
Sarat et al. 2014.
- 38.
Kreindler, Sarv, Editing ‘Zero Dark Thirty:’ Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg Assemble the Perfect Procedural: Creative Planet Network, December 20, 2012.
- 39.
Boal, Mark, zdt_script, Los Angeles: Sony Pictures, October 3, 2011.
- 40.
Drake, Bruce. American’s views on the use of torture in fighting terrorism have been mixed: Pewresearch.org, December 9, 2014.
Works Cited
Boal, Mark, zdt_script, Los Angeles: October 3, 2011. http://flash.sonypictures.com/shared/movies/zerodarkthirty/zdt_script.pdf (accessed October 18, 2015).
Boal, Mark, Bigelow, Kathryn, and Ellison, Megan, Zero Dark Thirty, Los Angeles: Sony Pictures, 2012.
Carruthers, Susan, Zero Dark Thirty, New York, New York: Cineaste, Spring 2013.
Casetti, Francesco, Inside the Gaze: The Fiction Film and Its Spectator, Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1998.
Dargis, Manohla, and Scott, A. O., Confronting the Fact of Fiction and the Fiction of Fact, New York, New York: New York Times, February 22, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/23/movies/awardsseason/the-history-in-lincoln-argo-and-zero-dark-thirty.html (accessed September 27, 2015).
Drake, Bruce. American’s Views on the Use of Torture in Fighting Terrorism Have Been Mixed: Pewresearch.org, December 9, 2014. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/12/09/americans-views-on-use-of-torture-in-fighting-terrorism-have-been-mixed/ (accessed September 27, 2015).
Filkins, Dexter, Bin Laden, the Movie, New York, New York: The New Yorker, December 17, 2012. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/12/17/bin-laden-the-movie (accessed September 27, 2015).
Goldman, Michael, The Worlds Most Wanted Man, Los Angeles, California: American Cinematographer, February 2013.
Goodwin, Christopher, Does This Point to a Defence of Torture, London: Sunday Times, January 13, 2013.
Greenwald, Glenn, Zero Dark Thirty: New Torture-Glorifying Film Wins Raves, London: The Guardian, December 10, 2012. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/dec/10/zero-dark-thirty-torture-awards (accessed September 27, 2015).
Kirk, Michael, Jim Gilmore, and Wiser, Mike, Frontline: Secrets, Politics and Torture, Boston: Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), May 19, 2015. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/government-elections-politics/secrets-politics-and-torture/transcript-83/ (accessed September 27, 2015).
Kreindler, Sarv, Editing ‘Zero Dark Thirty:’ Dylan Tichenor and WIlliam Goldenberg Assemble the Perfect Procedural: Creative Planet Network, December 20, 2012. http://www.creativeplanetnetwork.com/news/news-articles/editing-zero-dark-thirty-dylan-tichenor-and-william-goldenberg-assemble-perfect-procedural/415650#sthash.iX9OoMM8.dpuf (accessed September 27, 2015).
Mayer, Jane, Zero Conscience in “Zero Dark Thirty”, New York, New York: The New Yorker, December 14, 2012. http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/zero-conscience-in-zero-dark-thirty (accessed September 27, 2015).
Mazzetti, Mark. Senate Panel Faults C.I.A. Over Brutality and Deciet in Terrorism Interrogations, New York, New York: The New York Times, December 10, 2014.
Ranciere, Jacques, The Emancipated Spectator. Translated by Gregory Elliott, London, London: Verso, 2009.
Sarat, Austin, et al., Scenes of Execution: Spectatorship, Political Responsibility, and State Killing in American Film: Law & Social Inquiry (American Bar Foundation), Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Summer 2014.
States News Service, Two Thumbs Down at Fordham Law Panel on Zero Dark Thirty Torture, January 28, 2013.
Tenet, George, Goss, Porter, Hayden, Michael, McLaughlin, John, Calland, Albert, and Kappes, Stephan, Ex-CIA Directors: Interrogations Saved Lives, New York, New York: The Wall Street Journal, December 10, 2014.
Winter, Jessica, and Rothman, Lily, Art of Darkness, New York, New York: Time Magazine, February 4, 2013.
Zakarin, Jordan, Senate Drops ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ Probe, Los Angeles: The Hollywood Reporter, February 25, 2013. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/senate-drops-zero-dark-thirty-424409 (accessed September 27, 2014).
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Anderson, L. (2016). Zero Dark Thirty: A Filmmaker’s Notion. In: de Valk, M. (eds) Screening the Tortured Body. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-39918-2_12
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