Review of Zero Dark Thirty (2012) by Borderlinefilms - — 05 Feb 2015

Enhanced Rhetorical Techniques.

Bigelow's great. I admire her. But I'm still not sure where she stands on the use of torture in the CIA and as movie entertainment. She never calls it torture. She uses the euphemistic acronym EIT: Enhanced Interrogation Techniques. Want more? How about EQM: Enriched Questioning Methods. AES: Augmented Enquiry Simulations. Or just call it what it is. T&A: Torture and Answers. When asked if torture effectively led to the whereabouts of Bin Laden, she is deliberately vague but clearly states that due to a compressed movie plot, 0Dark30 made it seem like it did. In her story, the victims of torture appear to be treated better than I imagined. They never gave misleading answers so the torture would stop. They never coughed up what the interrogator wanted to hear. I got the feeling that the torture was somehow redeeming for them. Like an intense workout. No pain, no gain. And even though it was implied that the captives wouldn't be around to identify their inquisitors, afterwards they were rewarded with tender words and hummus. The glossing over these interrogative ordeals sweetens the message of torture as an indispensable necessity. The movie begins with torture and ends with the capture of OBL. The cause and effect is unmistakable.

That the liberal media is jumping all over this is no surprise. That the picture has been snubbed at the Oscars is also telling. Bigelow offers us a very well-crafted movie that celebrates GWB's overtly hostile America.

After watching 0D30 and reassessing Hurt Locker, I'm impressed by the way Bigelow manages to document the crazy courageous misfits needed to engage in wartime activity. She is a sharp and audacious filmmaker, and another GOP apologist. It wouldn't surprise me to find her at some future Republican Convention arguing with an empty chair.