Review of Standard Operating Procedure (2013) by Sam P — 11 Apr 2012

For our first screening of the new Uni course block, the year had to watch a 2008 documentary on the torture of Iraqi Prisoners at Abu Ghraib. The majority of the documentary had several of the original soldiers who were courts martial discussing to the camera what happened, as well as a detective figure who examined the photos released showcasing the torture, and the General in charge. Inter-sped with this was photos and video clips from the actual case, as well as several dramatic re-enactments.

A lot of the photos displayed were very harrowing and graphic, not shielding the audience from what has occurred, as well as several of the videos showing the actual soldiers interacting with the prisoners. The interviewees were all singing very similar stories and opinions apart from 2 or 3, which made it seemed very one-sided, but it allowed us to get a look and understanding of these people who committed what they did. For me, the dramatic re-enactments worked, I felt it was slightly heavy handed but also worked well as it immersed the audiencesâ(TM) into these scenes, one scene for example having water from a shower land on the camera, symbolising the view of one of the prisoners. However, some people I know were annoyed by this.

Overall, I though the documentary was fascinating and an eye opener, in no way would it be an enjoyable documentary due to the subject matter, but it would have an impact, and is definitely worth a watch.