Long Island Press » Donald Rumsfeld

Don’t be cruel to “Zero Dark Thirty” director Kathryn Bigelow in torture debate

Spencer Rumsey — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 23:08:35 +0000

Kathryn Bigelow has taken a hit for her portrayal of torture scenes in her new movie “Zero Dark Thirty” about the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

To the rest of the world, America means Hollywood and Hollywood is America. So that’s why I got a special kick out of Amy Poehler’s quip at the recent Golden Globes awards ceremony about Kathryn Bigelow, the supremely talented director of “Zero Dark Thirty,” whose movie recounting the operation leading up to the killing of Osama bin Laden has come under fire for its portrayal of CIA-directed interrogation of al-Qaida militants.

“When it comes to torture, I trust a lady who spent three years married to James Cameron!” Poehler said to the appreciative Beverly Hills crowd who know a thing or two about torturous marriages.

As for the issue itself, Huffington Post’s Dan Froomkin says no one should see this movie because it glorifies torture or, at least, doesn’t condemn it strongly enough.

But this superbly nuanced film itself makes no such claim, and the central character, an obsessive CIA agent played by Jessica Chastain, gets the clues she needs to find bin Laden through other means. Having an American movie audience confront, albeit in the comfort of their theater seats, the full implications of what Dick Cheney and fellow war criminal Donald Rumsfeld dubbed “enhanced interrogation techniques” is commendable and I welcome the controversy because it promises to be cathartic. Better late than never.

In fact, three of the top films in the running for Golden Globes and the Oscars do say a lot about our current state of politics and our relationship with the world. Escapism is not the theme that ties together “Zero Dark Thirty”, “Argo” (about rescuing American hostages held by Iran in 1980) and “Lincoln.” It’s an unusual triple play of contemporary relevance.

I’m not surprised that “Argo” beat both “Lincoln” and “Zero” for the Globe’s best drama because the Hollywood Foreign Press Association bestowed the award. Abraham Lincoln is an American archetype, and a film about him is never going to resonate as deeply elsewhere. We grow up with his profile in our pockets, for heaven’s sake. “Argo” is basically a more conventional Hollywood film, even with a movie producer played to perfection by Alan Arkin who green-lights a fake Hollywood film as key to the hostages’ rescue (and even makes a joke about the Golden Globes award ceremony on screen). It’s a hoot compared to “Zero Dark Thirty,” which is much harder to take and more demanding to watch, because it deals with hot-button events so current they’re still smoldering—and making the news as the controversy shows.

Bigelow and her screenwriter Mark Boal were right to include torture scenes in the narrative. American audiences should face the moral implications of what’s involved to promote or defend American interests. To argue that “Zero Dark Thirty” should focus on the moral complexities of our going to war against the Taliban and al-Qaida in Afghanistan, let alone our subsequent invasion of Iraq, is disingenuous at best. This is not some jingoistic, rah-rah rave-up like President George W. Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” pep rally held on the carrier deck of the aptly named USS Abraham Lincoln.

Of course, Americans should understand the background of Osama bin Laden’s radicalism, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, and his violent animosity toward the West. This movie assumes that smart people will already know some of that context. It’s not a homework assignment; it’s entertainment. If it does encourage more informed people to discuss those issues, so be it. Jessica Chastain (left), who won a Globe for best actress, noted that its first weekend box-office returns ($24 million) could have come “because everyone’s talking about it, they want to be involved in the conversation.”

What price do we pay for our security? We’re under increased surveillance here at home and we don’t seem to mind. It’s time to talk about it. The rest of the world is well aware of our history and our actions abroad. This movie is about much more than one woman’s obsession with getting back at bin Laden because he attacked the U.S. on 9/11. But unlike most other revenge movies, “Zero Dark Thirty” is on a sublime level all its own.

We go into the theatre knowing, in essence, how the story ends, but because of Bigelow’s artistry we are glued to our seats. “Argo” may occasionally raise our adrenaline higher—particularly the Hollywood-inspired final reel—but we know how that story ended also.

Some of the arguments against “Zero Dark Thirty” don’t hold up to scrutiny. To compare Kathryn Bigelow to Leni Riefenstahl, the German director whose “Triumph of the Will” will be forever clouded by its unmitigated hero-worship of the Third Reich, is so problematic and tendentious as to be ludicrous. Bigelow’s “Zero Dark Thirty” and her “The Hurt Locker” are not propaganda films. Besides, Riefenstahl’s artistry is clearly acknowledged by her detractors and supporters alike. Was she a war criminal? I don’t believe so. Saying that Bigelow, who has been a trailblazing woman in the male-dominated bastion of Hollywood, is an apologist for U.S. foreign policy because her films after 9/11 aren’t sufficiently politically correct in their criticism of our country is a specious intellectual exercise. Of course, as a successful American filmmaker with big money backing her, she’s not immune from the pervasive influences of our cultural dominance. Blame her for trying to reach a mass audience, not an art house crowd.

But don’t disparage the film with a false consciousness. By the same measure, should we hold Ben Affleck accountable for not fully explaining in “Argo” how—and why—the U.S. propped up the unpopular Shah of Iran for so long? Maybe in a classroom or a chat room. Just remember he made a Hollywood movie, not an anti-American indie screed—although he was certainly free to do so.

It’s great that as the Oscars approach, American filmgoers have such worthy contenders vying for their attention, each raising valid issues about this country, although in different degrees of drollery.

As the 2012 election showed—and the post-Sandy Congressional aid fight has amplified—our deeply divided country is facing severe problems that must be resolved if we are to progress. I thought it was brilliant that Steven Spielberg withheld “Lincoln” until after the election so the healing process could begin just as our 16^th president desired to bring both sides together after the Civil War. The lineage from Abraham Lincoln to Barrack Obama is very clear indeed, and the reactionary rump Republican Party so dominant in the South is certainly the heir to the Confederacy today. No American movie I’ve ever seen depicts the political process so magnificently—all the unsightly ingredients that go into getting legislation passed. I loved it. I also enjoyed “Argo” immensely and thought “Zero Dark Thirty” was brilliant and “Lincoln” truly profound.

Hooray for Hollywood.

The Pink Slip – January, 2013

Long Island Press — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 17:08:36 +0000

Wayne LaPierre

The executive vice president of the National Rifle Association held a much-anticipated press conference (no questions allowed) following the shootings of 20 children and six adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and, in essence, blamed the media for glorifying violence and proposed that armed guards be stationed at every school in the nation to keep the paranoid killers at bay. LaPierre’s proposal is deranged, his response to the tragedy delusional. LaPierre…You’re fired.

Silvio Berlusconi

Italy’s former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi refuses to go away quietly. Although he resigned last year, he manages to cause just as much trouble when he’s out of office as when he’s in power. Could you imagine what this country would be like if George W. Bush were stirring up the pot every two seconds? That’s what Berlusconi is doing to Italy. It got so divisive that the Pope issued a Christmas call for political peace, but Berlusconi egged on his right-wing supporters to throw mud in the public sphere by attacking his successor Mario Monti and hamper his efforts to get the Italian economy back on track. Berlusconi doesn’t know when to leave well enough alone. Berlusconi…You’re fired.

Naftali Bennett

The 40-year-old American-born head of the Jewish Home party is on the verge of making his far-right, pro-Zionist faction the third most powerful force in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament , which could mean that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition would become even more extreme, endangering the Mideast’s fading hopes for peace with the Palestinians. Bennett isn’t interested in a two-state solution; he wants to annex the occupied territories in defiance of UN policies and U.S. initiatives. The last thing President Obama needs is watching Israel deliberately turn itself into a belligerent occupying power propped up by our money and military might. Bennett…you’re fired.

Tony Sparano

The Jets offensive coordinator was brought in from the Miami Dolphins (where his coaching record was mediocre at best) to make the other teams in its lop-sided conference fear the Meadowlands’ Green Machine. But Sparano never got the offense going in any direction other than backwards. Instead, he just messed up the minds of three quarterbacks, not just one, and made the Wildcat offense look as tame as an old tabby cat. Under his guidance, the Jets ranked 30th in total yards gained per game. Sparano…you’re fired.

Ann Coulter

Remember when this belligerent blonde priestess of right-wing bombast said she “highly” approved of Gov. Mitt Romney’s “decision to be kind and gentle to the retard”? Coulter is no dummy; she’s made a fortune patronizing the boneheads of our Republic who eat up her every word because they think that makes them smarter. She should be forced to empty bed pans in a psych ward for the next four years of Obama’s presidency. Ann Coulter…you’re fired.

Phil Foglietta

For 25 years Poly Prep Country Day School, an elite private boys’ academy in Brooklyn, bent over backwards to avoid confronting charges from its student body that the celebrated football coach, Phil Foglietta, was sexually abusing hundreds of kids, some as young as 10. Well, finally, justice has been served. After a lengthy process, the school has just settled a lawsuit filed three years ago by 12 plaintiffs who had each sought $20 million—the largest such suit in the New York area. What the school will actually pay has not been disclosed but what it would have saved had it investigated Foglietta’s horrible behavior when it first came to light can’t be calculated. Although the coach has since deceased, let this example live on as a costly reminder to institutions everywhere to take these allegations seriously and do the right thing. If we’d had the chance, what do you think we’d say? Phil Foglietta…you’re fired.

Andruw Jones

Anybody who gets arrested for assaulting his wife on Christmas deserves to be punished to the full extent of the law. That goes double for former big league athletes like Andruw Jones, the ex-Braves and ex-Yankee outfielder who got busted in his big mansion outside Atlanta and charged with battery. Early Christmas morning his wife accused the slugger of dragging her down a staircase, grabbing her neck and yelling that he wanted to kill her. She reportedly freed herself and called the cops who found the 35-year-old athlete “heavily intoxicated and confused about why officers were standing in his bedroom.” Jones may have just signed a $3.5 million, one-year contract to play ball in Japan, but we think he could spend his time more wisely in rehab here in the States. Andruw Jones…you’re fired.

The Kardashians

For Christmas Kim Kardashian got a pair of custom-made Giuseppe Zanotti shoes from her boyfriend Kanye West. At least he’s got talent (which is more than we can say for her). Khloe Kardashian gave her little sisters Kendall and Kylie designer handbags and ankle boots worth big bucks. What’s on sibling Kourtney’s toes remains to be seen. Apparently new shoes are big news if the Kardashians stick their feet into them. Thanks to the miracle of “reality TV,” we all know who this rich family of freeloaders is, but not why we should waste another minute on them. This phenomenon of being famous for being famous must end for the good of the country. Their brand has gone on long enough. Kardashians…you’re fired.

Britney Spears

Over the years Louisiana has given so much to pop culture but then there’s Britney Spears, who’s in a class all by herself. There must be a reason Simon Cowell paid her $15 million to be a panelist on his second-rate show, “The X Factor,” but it can’t be for her “amazing” judging ability, can it? What this self-proclaimed “femme fatale” does away from the studio just may not be worth the worry, but she brings nothing to this show. Britney Spears…you’re fired.

Donald Rumsfeld

The smug Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld rebuffed his own generals’ advice—let alone every sane person outside the Pentagon who knew going to war in Iraq was going to be a costly, drawn out bloody debacle—and convinced President George W. Bush that overthrowing Saddam Hussein would be a cakewalk. There’d be more strategic targets than in Afghanistan, he said, and more oil of course. But when his “preemptive strike” turned badly—through no fault of the heroic men and women in our military who were poorly served by their commander in chief—Rumsfeld just shrugged and told his poorly armored troops: “You go to war with the army you have.” When priceless archaeological sites were plundered in the fertile crescent, museum collections ruined in Bagdad, he blew it off. Those are crimes against humanity, so let history be the judge. But authorizing waterboarding, other forms of torture and extrajudicial execution violate the Geneva Convention, and he should be held accountable. Maybe that’s why Bush sought to immunize Rumsfeld from prosecution in the International Criminal Court before he left office, but Rumsfeld could be tried in other countries under the precepts of universal law. And just as Nazi war criminals were hounded for years until they were brought to justice, so should he be made to pay for his unlawful acts that have tarnished the lasting legacy of the United States (as well as added to our debt). Donald Rumsfeld…you’re fired.