{"id":201,"date":"2014-07-30T11:48:13","date_gmt":"2014-07-30T15:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/surfingthespectacle.com\/?p=201"},"modified":"2015-10-04T03:34:13","modified_gmt":"2015-10-04T07:34:13","slug":"that-which-entertains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/surfingthespectacle.com\/?p=201","title":{"rendered":"That Which Entertains"},"content":{"rendered":"<table width=\"100%\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"10\" cellspacing=\"10\" bgcolor=\"#000000\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\" valign=\"top\" bgcolor=\"99CC99\">\n<div align=\"left\">\n<div id=\"content\">\n<div align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.surfingthespectacle.com\/images\/uploads\/algierstorture1wb.jpg\" border=\"10\" alt=\"image\" name=\"image\" width=\"425\" height=\"229\" \/> <\/div align><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">In its extraordinary tale of urban insurrection, the 1967 film <em>Battle of Algiers<\/em> considers with unblinking eye the brutalities humans inflict upon one another. Sentiment is largely exhausted. Each side coolly regards its violence as utterly justified.<\/p>\n<p>The film features a brief sequence on torture, as French colonial forces interrogate Muslim prisoners. The montage is played out as human tragedy. A witness to the torture, perhaps another prisoner, silently weeps at the degradation. The filmmaker intends that the viewer himself may be just such a witness. <\/p>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<div style=\"width: 320px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('video');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-201-1\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"http:\/\/surfingthespectacle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/AlgiersTorturescene_300k.mp4?_=1\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/surfingthespectacle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/AlgiersTorturescene_300k.mp4\">http:\/\/surfingthespectacle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/AlgiersTorturescene_300k.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div><\/div align><\/p>\n<div align=\"center\">But, alas, who now sheds a tear for such things?<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.surfingthespectacle.com\/images\/uploads\/boteroprisonerwb.jpg\" border=\"10\" alt=\"image\" name=\"image\" width=\"250\" height=\"330\" \/><\/div align><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The torture in <em>Battle of Algiers<\/em> may remind us of certain interrogations the American government has presided over in recent years. <\/p>\n<p>Perhaps we shall not call these interrogations torture, because we are told by the highest of sources that America does not torture.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"> <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.surfingthespectacle.com\/images\/uploads\/bushtorture2.jpg\" border=\"10\" alt=\"image\" name=\"image\" width=\"327\" height=\"233\" \/><\/div align><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Torture is something only our enemies do. It\u2019s a barbaric practice, part of the Inquisition and the Dark Ages. <\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.surfingthespectacle.com\/images\/uploads\/torturedarkage.jpg\" border=\"10\" alt=\"image\" name=\"image\" width=\"297\" height=\"246\" \/><\/div align><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Back then, torture was frequently a public spectacle. Normal folk were given the privilege to observe the piercings, the burnings, the gore, the screaming and, finally, when the time was just right, the grand demise. It was entertainment. <\/p>\n<p>That impulse hasn\u2019t vanished. Our public seems to have an appetite for vivid depictions of pain, fear and sadistic control. Amid such impulses, there seems to be an enduring fetish for the mutilation of the body. <\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.surfingthespectacle.com\/images\/uploads\/torturebillboardsm.jpg\" border=\"10\" alt=\"image\" name=\"image\" width=\"386\" height=\"212\" \/> <\/div align><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Hollywood is only too glad to feed that appetite. The torturer\u2019s secret twin is now the filmmaker who controls elements of suffering and pain with the precision of a sadist. The exquisite realism of modern cinema adds to the heightened authenticity. You, the viewer, can feel utterly immersed in the torture chamber.<\/p>\n<p>There is no cause for alarm. We remain a culture of deep values. For instance, in the realm of network television where one character may slowly butcher another, we should remember that it is strictly forbidden for anyone to utter the word \u201cshit.\u201d <\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.surfingthespectacle.com\/images\/uploads\/24t1.jpg\" border=\"10\" alt=\"image\" name=\"image\" width=\"214\" height=\"161\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.surfingthespectacle.com\/images\/uploads\/24t2.jpg\" border=\"10\" alt=\"image\" name=\"image\" width=\"214\" height=\"161\"\/><\/div align><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Torture, after all, can be a very good thing. In the last few years, the celebrated network series <em>24<\/em> has showcased some <a href=\"http:\/\/www.parentstv.org\/PTC\/campaigns\/24\/main.asp\" target=\"_blank\">67 incidents of torture<\/a>. While some of the torturers are evil and debased foreign terrorists, much of the torture comes at the hands of the &#8220;good guys&#8221; who show great enthusiasm and skill in the wielding of unbearable pain.<\/p>\n<p>The good guys have no choice. Jack Bauer, the heroic government agent played by Kiefer Sutherland, is locked in an epic battle against domestic terrorists. He <i>must<\/i> torture. Otherwise the terrorists will kill us all. Torture, we are shown again and again, forces the enemy to confess their deadly plans.<\/p>\n<p>Patrick Finnegan has a problem with this. He&#8217;s an Army U.S. Brigadier General and dean of West Point. Accompanied by top Army and FBI interrogators, General Finnegan recently paid a visit to the TV show, delivering a message to the show&#8217;s producers: Cut the crap. <\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.surfingthespectacle.com\/images\/uploads\/24t3.jpg\" border=\"10\" alt=\"image\" name=\"image\" width=\"352\" height=\"229\" \/><\/div align><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">It turns out the show&#8217;s image of torture is nothing more than a chickenhawk\u2019s wet dream. General Finnegan told <em>24&#8217;s<\/em> producers that the brutal acts they depict are illegal, psychotic and simply do not work in the real world. <\/p>\n<p>Evidence had been accumulating that inexperienced army interrogators were <a href=\"http:\/\/www.humanrightsfirst.org\/2007\/10\/15\/Criminal-Minds-Wins-Human-Rights-Award-for-Portrayal-of-Interrogation\">imitating the actions <\/a>they saw on the show. The general finds this development alarming. Moreover, he said that he saw no advantage in having the world think that American officers and officials are, more or less, viciously insane.  <\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.surfingthespectacle.com\/images\/uploads\/24surnow.jpg\" border=\"10\" alt=\"image\" name=\"image\" width=\"210\" height=\"268\" \/><\/div align><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Speaking of chickhawks, Joel Surnow (above), rightwing creator of <em>24<\/em>, couldn\u2019t actually be bothered to meet with the General\u2019s delegation. Surnow said, \u201cThey say torture doesn\u2019t work. But I don\u2019t believe that.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>So that&#8217;s that.<\/p>\n<p>Jane Mayer has an interesting video essay about this story on the <em>New Yorker<\/em> website (click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=JTzVNtfknPQ\">here<\/a> to view the video<\/a> and here to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/reporting\/2007\/02\/19\/070219fa_fact_mayer?printable=true\" target=\"_blank\">read original essay<\/a>). It\u2019s instructive that, despite her reporting, Mayer remains a staunch fan of the show. She finds it riveting.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.surfingthespectacle.com\/images\/uploads\/algierstorture2wb.jpg\" border=\"10\" alt=\"image\" name=\"image\" width=\"425\" height=\"179\" \/> <\/div align><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">As we sit before our televised scenes of torture, breathlessly witnessing inventive displays of human terror and degradation, we might take solace in knowing that we\u2019re not truly delighting in human suffering. It\u2019s just entertainment. <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s just make believe. <\/p>\n<p>It doesn&#8217;t mean anything at all.<\/p>\n<p>\n<em>[The Abu Ghraib image is from <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fernando_Botero\">Fernando Botero<\/a>. The Bush cartoon is by <a href=\"http:\/\/web.commercialappeal.com\/newgo\/core\/bill_day\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\">Bill Day<\/a> of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal. Information about the billboard can be found <a href=\"http:\/\/www.slashfilm.com\/2007\/03\/20\/captivity-billboard-banned\/\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>. And click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1eYx46wbju0\">here<\/a> for a short video on 24 by the Primetime Torture Project.]<\/em><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In its extraordinary tale of urban insurrection, the 1967 film Battle of Algiers considers with unblinking eye the brutalities humans inflict upon one another. Sentiment is largely exhausted. Each side coolly regards its violence as utterly justified. The film features a brief sequence on torture, as French colonial forces interrogate Muslim prisoners. The montage is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/surfingthespectacle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/surfingthespectacle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/surfingthespectacle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/surfingthespectacle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/surfingthespectacle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=201"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/surfingthespectacle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1154,"href":"https:\/\/surfingthespectacle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201\/revisions\/1154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/surfingthespectacle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/surfingthespectacle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/surfingthespectacle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}