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sister_luckBack from the UK, here's a post about something American.
This is a post about a tv show. And it will need my first cut but it won't be very deep...
I started watching 24 when it first came out.
Originally, I was quite skeptic about it - feared it might be too much gung-ho hero-with-a-traumatic-past action for me, but the format sounded interesting.
(As an aside: I wasn't quite sure I was going to like The Shield for pretty much the same reason and I was amazed at its complexity and success in portraying flawed characters. And still am. Though I haven't seen any of the new season yet.)
Back to 24: The first season was great. There was so much suspense. I had to keep putting a new episode into the DVD player until I was too tired to watch anymore. There were lots of surprises and shock moments.
And best of all, there were Senator Palmer and his wife. Whenever they were on the screen together, I felt like I was watching a modern version of Macbeth. The writing and the photography in their scenes were brilliant. The dialogue was fast-paced. Exciting. Serious questions were posited: How far are you prepared to go when you seek power? How do you cope with bad decisions from the past?
Sure, there were some things I didn't particularly like, but it kept me glued to the screen. The format was new and exciting. You kept wondering what was going on in the storylines that you didn't get to see in 'real time'. Great television.
Day 2 wasn't as good I felt. Maybe it was because I'd already become used to the format. But it was still enjoyable entertainment. And I was still willing to give Day 3 a shot - which I thought turned out ok, but some of the storylines became increasingly ridiculous. I was still invested in the characters, particulary Michelle and Tony Almeida and of course, Chloe.
There was something that got me increasingly worried though. Jack Bauer has always been fairly extreme in his approach (as regards violence and/or not doing what he's told), but he's been presented as somewhat a loose cannon. In Day 2 President Palmer had to make the difficult decision whether to have someone tortured. He was conflicted about it, but in the end felt he didn't have any other option. The audience felt Palmer's doubts and the torture scenes were very difficult to watch.
But now, in Day 4, interrogation techniques bordering on torture, and outright torture occur in just about every episode. While some characters express their misgivings about these measures, the audience is told via the Defense Secretary that it's something that has to be done. And that it's good that we've got people like Jack Bauer who are willing to do it.
This angers me for several reasons:
a) I think it's morally wrong. And if you say the others do it too, or the others started it, that's playground logics.
b) It can be seen as propaganda/advocacy for torture. And torture is illegal and rightly so.
c) It sends a rather disturbing message to people who are already rather doubtful about US policies. It seems to prove them right.
Yes, you say, it's only a tv series. But it is set in the real world and it uses people's real fears. OK, you say, then stop watching it. Yeah, right, but what about people who become convinced by this that it's ok to use torture?
And the really bad thing about this? - I'll keep on watching - for laughs mostly and because righteous anger is so much fun. We've even devised a drinking game... In case you want to comment: no spoilers beyond ep 16 please. I'm not up-to-date with 24.
Announcement: I've got a post planned about Alfred Kinsey from a different perspective via T.C. Boyle's The Inner Circle.
This is a post about a tv show. And it will need my first cut but it won't be very deep...
I started watching 24 when it first came out.
Originally, I was quite skeptic about it - feared it might be too much gung-ho hero-with-a-traumatic-past action for me, but the format sounded interesting.
(As an aside: I wasn't quite sure I was going to like The Shield for pretty much the same reason and I was amazed at its complexity and success in portraying flawed characters. And still am. Though I haven't seen any of the new season yet.)
Back to 24: The first season was great. There was so much suspense. I had to keep putting a new episode into the DVD player until I was too tired to watch anymore. There were lots of surprises and shock moments.
And best of all, there were Senator Palmer and his wife. Whenever they were on the screen together, I felt like I was watching a modern version of Macbeth. The writing and the photography in their scenes were brilliant. The dialogue was fast-paced. Exciting. Serious questions were posited: How far are you prepared to go when you seek power? How do you cope with bad decisions from the past?
Sure, there were some things I didn't particularly like, but it kept me glued to the screen. The format was new and exciting. You kept wondering what was going on in the storylines that you didn't get to see in 'real time'. Great television.
Day 2 wasn't as good I felt. Maybe it was because I'd already become used to the format. But it was still enjoyable entertainment. And I was still willing to give Day 3 a shot - which I thought turned out ok, but some of the storylines became increasingly ridiculous. I was still invested in the characters, particulary Michelle and Tony Almeida and of course, Chloe.
There was something that got me increasingly worried though. Jack Bauer has always been fairly extreme in his approach (as regards violence and/or not doing what he's told), but he's been presented as somewhat a loose cannon. In Day 2 President Palmer had to make the difficult decision whether to have someone tortured. He was conflicted about it, but in the end felt he didn't have any other option. The audience felt Palmer's doubts and the torture scenes were very difficult to watch.
But now, in Day 4, interrogation techniques bordering on torture, and outright torture occur in just about every episode. While some characters express their misgivings about these measures, the audience is told via the Defense Secretary that it's something that has to be done. And that it's good that we've got people like Jack Bauer who are willing to do it.
This angers me for several reasons:
a) I think it's morally wrong. And if you say the others do it too, or the others started it, that's playground logics.
b) It can be seen as propaganda/advocacy for torture. And torture is illegal and rightly so.
c) It sends a rather disturbing message to people who are already rather doubtful about US policies. It seems to prove them right.
Yes, you say, it's only a tv series. But it is set in the real world and it uses people's real fears. OK, you say, then stop watching it. Yeah, right, but what about people who become convinced by this that it's ok to use torture?
And the really bad thing about this? - I'll keep on watching - for laughs mostly and because righteous anger is so much fun. We've even devised a drinking game... In case you want to comment: no spoilers beyond ep 16 please. I'm not up-to-date with 24.
Announcement: I've got a post planned about Alfred Kinsey from a different perspective via T.C. Boyle's The Inner Circle.
