Interesting that, given that Sutherland is a liberal. It reminds me of Battlestar Galactica. Ronald Moore is more liberal than not,and not at all a fan of Bush. Yet in his podcast he commented on how many of hte actions taken by Adama and the President of the Colonies are very similar to the ones Bush took--the ones we criticize. Things such as suspension of certain civil liberties, the increased power of the military, things like the Prez throwing a Cylon out an airlock without a trial since he had no legal rights (not being human and all).
I find this a fascinating study of human behaviour and when we can justify doing horrible things to each other. Sutherland as a liberal but a father, understands why Jack would do some of those things. But i think in that case his point is that Jack is about as justified as he can get. Which of us, if our entire family were at risk of being murdered, would hesitate at torturing someone involved in the potential act? And maybe that's the lesson here: we know that dire circumstances may drive us to dire means, and thus it's incumbent upon us to make sure the justifications are valid if we're to use them to commit atrocities. -------------- Original message -------------- From: "Tracey de Morsella (formerly Tracey L. Minor)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > '24' Producer Agrees To Cut Torture Scenes > Although denying that he is reacting to growing international criticism, > Howard Gordon, an executive producer of Fox's 24, has disclosed that the > show plans to cut back on torture scenes. "What was once an > extraordinary or exceptional moment is starting to feel a little trite. > The idea of physical coercion or torture is no longer a novelty or > surprise," Gordon told today's (Thursday) Philadelphia Inquirer. "It's > not something that we, as writers, want to use as a crutch. We'd like to > find other ways for Jack to get information out of suspects," he added. > Gordon's comments came after the New Yorker magazine reported that > Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan, dean of the U.S. Military Academy at > West Point and an eminent military lawyer, had flown to California to > meet producers of the show. Finnegan reportedly told the producers that > promoting illegal behavior on the show was having a damaging effect on > U.S. troops in Iraq. Finnegan told the magazine, "The kids see it and > say, 'If torture is wrong, what about 24?'" In response, Gordon told the > Inquirer,"The thesis that we are affecting our soldiers in Iraq in their > treatment of prisoners is being exaggerated, I think. Hopefully, there > are a lot of filters between their watching 24 and their work in the > field." > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
