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| "Does 24 Encourage US Interrogators to 'Torture' Detainees?" by Tom Regan. http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0212/p99s01-duts.html"Stranger than Fiction: Does 24 Inspire Real Life Torture?" by Rick Moran. http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/02/stranger_than_fiction_does_24.html"Watching Torture in Prime Time." Anne-Marie Cusac. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1295/is_8_69/ai_n15383879?tag=content;col1A Casebook on 24. The articles in this casebook address the issue of torture in the popular, long-running series 24, raising questions and offerings opinions about the place of torture on prime-time television and whether a television show has any real impact on people's opinions and real-life events. The Pre-reading Questions at the beginning of the casebook are designed to apply to all three articles, and the Journal Topics, Suggestions for Personal Research, and Multicultural Issues at the end of the casebook are also designed for all three articles. Each article is followed by its own Questions for Critical Thought, Terms for Clarification, and Vocabulary. Web links to additional articles of relevance, including one by horror writer Stephen King, are provided at the end of the casebook.Pre-reading Questions 1) Have you ever watched the TV series 24? If so, do you consider yourself a fan? What do you like about the show? How do you feel about the scenes of torture? How do you feel about the main character, Jack Bauer? Is he a straight-up hero, or a morally ambivalent character? 2) How do you feel about violence on television in general? Does it entertain or disturb you? Do you think it can desensitize viewers' attitudes to real acts of violence committed against other people? 3) How do you feel about the torture of terrorism suspects in real life? Is torture ever justified? If so, what scenarios do you think can justify torture?Regan, Tom. "Does 24 Encourage US Interrogators to 'Torture' Detainees?"Questions for Critical Thought 1) U. S. Army Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan and "three of the most experienced military and FBI interrogators in the country" met with the maker's of 24 because, as Regan puts it, they were concerned that "the show's central political premise - that the letter of American law must be sacrificed for the country's security - was having a toxic effect. In their view, the show promoted unethical and illegal behavior and had adversely affected the training and performance of real American soldiers." Joel Surnow, one of the show's executive producers, disagrees with Finnegan and the others and believes that torture works. How do you evaluate these opposing views? 2) Gary Solis says that when he taught Law of War for Commanders at West Point, he would tell his students that "Jack Bauer is a criminal. In real life, he would be prosecuted," but that his students agreed with Bauer's techniques. Does this offer evidence that the show encourages pro-torture attitudes? Or do you think that the students at West Point might already have had a "whatever it takes" attitude? And how do you feel about that attitude on the part of future military commanders? Does it make you feel safer, or do you find it morally troubling? Or both? 3) The article also quotes Alistair Hodgett of Amnesty International, who said that 24 gives people "a clearer idea of what torture involves. ... They do more to educate than desensitize." If you have watched scenes of torture on this show, what is the effect on you? What do you think the effect is on most people? Hodgett's view is different from that of the military people who met with Surnow and also from that of Surnow himself, who approves of torture in some circumstances. How do you account for the diversity of these people's views of the same fictionalized depictions of torture? Given their backgrounds, personal ideology alone cannot account for the differences.Vocabulary curriculum tangentially credulityTerms for ClarificationWest Point is the common name for the United States Military Academy is located at West Point, New York, and trains United States Army officers, including a large percentage of people who have gone on to be generals.Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organization that states that its mission is "to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all human rights."Moran, Rick. "Stranger than Fiction: Does 24 Inspire Real Life Torture?"Questions for Critical Thought 1) Rick Moran says that "We want the kind of certitude exhibited by Jack. We long for it. We crave it. A black and white world where we don't have to wrestle with our consciences about what to do with real terrorists and where the choices made by our government to protect us would meet with universal approval is something most Americans would give their right arm for." Do you agree with him? Or could he be oversimplifying the views and complexity of most Americans? What percentage of Americans do you think he might be accurately assessing? 2) In contrast to opinions expressed in Cusac's article, Moran argues that "The moral choices made by characters on 24 do not necessarily shed light on contemporary America so much as they illustrate time-honored thematic constructs from great literature and drama of the past." Do you agree that the plots and characters of 24 don't illuminate aspects of contemporary America? In light of the quotation in the previous question, do you think he may be contradicting himself? 3) Moran asks, "Can our young men and women be so stupid as to reject their training and simply copy what a character on a fictional television show does, thinking that it is both legal and will get the job done?" Do you agree with him? How would do you characterize the tone of this question? 4) Moran feels that far from encouraging torture or the acceptance of it, that "basically the show functions as a safe outlet for our fears about terrorism and security." What do you think?Vocabulary certitude scenarioTerms for Clarificationwaterboard In waterboarding, people are immobilized on their backs, their heads are inclined downward, and water is poured over their faces to simulate drowning due to suffocation and the inhalation of water into their breathing passages. Al-Qaeda An international terrorist network conducting activities purportedly in the name of Islam. It claimed responsibility for the September 11, 2001, attacks in the Unites States and many other terrorist attacks around the world. Taliban A fundamentalist Islamic militia that took control of Afghanistan in 1995. Kandahar a city in southern Afghanistan Geneva Conventions Four treaties formulated in Geneva, Switzerland, setting the standards for international law for humanitarian concerns.Cusac, Anne-Marie.. "Watching Torture in Prime Time."Questions for Critical Thought 1) Cusac writes that part of the appeal of the show is "24's proximity to real events and public fears. The shadow of 9/11 hangs over the show." Do you agree? Could 24, with its torture of and triumph over terrorists, provide a vicarious way for Americans to relieve anxiety associated with both 9/11 and the fear of future acts of terrorism? 2) Joel Surnow, one of 24's executive producers, is quoted saying the show doesn't "try to push an agenda," but is "committed to being non-PC." What does he mean by "non-PC"? And could that commitment itself be an "agenda"? 3) Surnow also says, "If there's a bomb about to hit a major U.S. city and you have a person with information … if you don't torture that person, that would be one of the most immoral acts you could imagine." Cusac believes that 24's "continual regurgitation of situations involving imminent bombings and torture separates 24 from reality and renders it a fantasy show." Can TV shows make us think that some threats are more likely than they really are? Do viewers start to interpret reality as filtered through a lens of fantasy? Can shows that repeatedly depict torture successfully working to combat terrorism and save innocent people lead to a belief for some of the shows' fans that torture is both effective and justifiable? 4) Cusac approves one aspect of the way that 24 presents torture: "Physical hurt is audible and visible on this show and often difficult to watch. The pain is a harsh contrast to the 'happy violence' (which avoids realistic depictions of suffering) that critics of TV have complained about for decades." Could this be an antidote to what some see as the show's pro-torture message? Does it make the violence more palatable? 5) Writer Adam Green is quoted wondering whether Americans are "reworking the rules of war to the point where the most expedient response to terrorism is to resort to terror." Do you see that happening? He says that how the debate over torture "plays out on 24 may say a great deal about what sort of society we are in the process of becoming." Are the values of our society changing? Can a show that Cusac describes as "fantasy" accurately reflect our society? 6) Cusac writes, "The more our government sanctions torture, the more that high-level officials do not face censure, the more our democracy erodes. When our highest officials are not held to account, it is often tempting to feel apathetic about torture, as if we have nothing to do with its existence. Intentional disregard seems to be the way we are dealing with this, though few of us are saying so." Do you agree that the government has sanctioned torture? Why or why not? And are Americans in general disregarding the issue?Vocabulary imminent straw man renders voyeuristic efficacy monomaniacal ineffectual sanctions censureTerm for ClarificationAbu Ghraib prison is in Abu Ghraib, an Iraqi city near Baghdad. Saddam Hussein's government tortured and executed dissidents there, and, after his government was overthrown by U.S. troops, it became the site of a new international torture and prisoner abuse scandal when a series of photographs revealed the American torture of Iraqi detainees.Journal Topics 1) Explore your own feeling about the torture of terrorist suspects. Do you feel that the end always justifies the means? Is it possible to approve and disapprove of something like torture at the same time? 2) Some people believe that any moral problems associated with torture are outweighed by the possibility that innocent lies can be saved by its use. Others counter that even if that were the case, that an American acceptance of torture will undercut our claims to moral superiority and encourage the use of torture against any captured members of our armed forces. What do you think?Suggestions for Personal Research 1) Research the effects of depictions of violence on television. (You could include research into the depiction of violence in other mediums, like movies and video games.) What do studies show? Have any results been considered conclusive? 2) A big part of the torture debate is whether it actually works to elicit trustworthy, accurate, useful information. There are lots of opinions, but what studies have been done? How were the studies conducted? What were the results? 3) What, exactly, are the current international standards regarding torture? What do the Geneva Conventions state? How is compliance measured? What is international law regarding human rights violations, and how are these violations defined? What international and national trends can you find? Where is the United States in all of this? How did the Bush administration frame its polices? How are those polices framed now? What are the Obama administration's polices? Has President Obama's stance shifted from that of candidate Obama? 4) The debate over torture and its importance as a subject are not restricted to the use of torture against terrorist suspects and others by military personnel. Torture has also been used as a tool of law enforcement agencies around the world, sometimes officially, sometimes illegally and unofficially. Research torture as a tool in law enforcement in one or more countries, possibly including the United States. How prevalent is it? What common characteristics can you find? 4) What makes people accept torture and even engage in it? Are people who can torture others different from other people? Or is anyone, theoretically, capable of committing torture? Stanley Milgram, a social psychologist, conducted a famous series of experiments in which ordinary people were asked to administer electrical shocks to other people under the direction of an authority figure. A surprising number were willing to administer what they believed to be genuine electrical shocks to human subjects to a point that would have been life-threatening if they were real. Look at Milgram's research and his conclusions and see what other research you can find. You might also wish to explore the ethical issues raised by studies such as Milgram's. 6) Research the long-term psychological effects of torture on its victims. Conversely, you could also research the long-term effects on torturers themselves. Do people who felt that they were justified in committing torture come to regret it? How likely are they to suffer effects like post-traumatic stress disorder? Depression? Suicide? What traits distinguish torturers who suffer ill effects from those who don't?Multicultural Issues 1) Studies indicate that immigrants experience emotional suffering from media reports of wars, atrocities, and other conflicts in their homelands. The feelings of helplessness, anxiety, and depression can be debilitating even though they themselves feel safe. Have you ever experienced anything like this, or do you know anyone who has? Are such feelings ever resolved? 2) Research indicates that it is easier to accept the torture of other people if they can be "demonized" as bad and deserving of torture, but also if they are from different ethnic, cultural, national, and even ideological backgrounds. How big an impact could this tendency have on the debate over torture in the United States?Additional Articles"Former Hostage McCarthy Slams TV Torture Scenes." Ian Burrell. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/former-hostage-mccarthy-slams-tv-torture-scenes-450086.html"The Right's Jack Bauer Fantasy: 'Clip the Electrodes to His Balls and Turn on the Juice.'" Larry Beinhart.http://www.alternet.org/story/124736/the_right's_jack_bauer_fantasy:_'clip_the_electrodes_to_his_balls_and_turn_on_the_juice'/?page=entire"Reconsidering Torture on 24." Roger Caitlin.http://blogs.courant.com/roger_catlin_tv_eye/2009/01/reconsidering-torture-on-24.html"Torture and 24." Stephen King.http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20258943,00.html"ICRC Report on the Treatment Of Fourteen 'High Value Detainees' In CIA Custody." For some background information on the controversial topic of U. S. - sanctioned torture, you can read this report by the Regional Delegation for United States and Canada of the International Committee of the Red Cross, published February 17, 2009. http://www.nybooks.com/icrc-report.pdf |