(from "WHATEVER IT TAKES: The politics of the man behind “24.” by JANE MAYER)
I mentioned this in Block IV yesterday (I think - maybe it was Block II), how Mr Welden was telling me that although Jack Bauer himself sometimes has to tromple on certain civil liberties in the name of terrorism, that actually a theme of the show seemed to be that even in these uncertain times we must respect human rights and civil liberties. That's what makes us Americans, after all.
This week's issue of the New Yorker has an article about "24" and the man who created it, Joel Surnow. While Surnow's number one concern is audience-share, it tunrs out he's not so concerned with civil liberties as Mr Welden seems to think.
The series, Surnow told me, is “ripped out of the Zeitgeist of what people’s fears are—their paranoia that we’re going to be attacked,” and it “makes people look at what we’re dealing with” in terms of threats to national security. “There are not a lot of measures short of extreme measures that will get it done,” he said, adding, “America wants the war on terror fought by Jack Bauer. He’s a patriot”. . .
Surnow, who has jokingly called himself a “right-wing nut job,” shares his show’s hard-line perspective. Speaking of torture, he said, “Isn’t it obvious that if there was a nuke in New York City that was about to blow—or any other city in this country—that, even if you were going to go to jail, it would be the right thing to do?”
Does it matter? It's just a tv show, right?
Well, take this quiz: Rate these in order, from most to fewest.
a. number of readers of the New York Times
b. number of readers of George Orwell's 1984
c. number of viewers of "24"
3 comments:
24, the new york times, then 1984
thats my guess.
C, A, B Same as Kara. Wow. Thats kinda pathetic, but not all that surprising...
I didn't read the whole article, so this is probably mentioned somewhere in there, but if tourture is so readily braodcast on tv, won't the American public become more accepting of it?
Also, I think that 24 is wrong in glorifying the "quick and violent " method for solving problems. Contrary to what the show producers say, the content Amercans see in tv probably does affect how they view world events.
Also, it seem appropriate that administration officials enjoy the show. They themselves prefer action to talk, just look at the latest Iraq strategy. Instead of talking to Iraq's neighbors in the middle-east, they have decided to go against the advice of many top military officials and the opinion of the American public by sending in 21,500 more troops.
Post a Comment