Comments on: Kathryn Bigelow Talks “Torture” Controversy, Her First “Failed” ‘Hunt For Osama Bin Laden’ Film & More About ‘Zero Dark Thirty’

By: Jaimee

Jaimee — Sun, 22 May 2016 03:28:14 +0000

As one critic put it, which is funny, "the only torture is watching the movie itself." The film makers should just accept the public's response and not have all Bigelow's well placed friends write stunning reviews everywhere for her. She's practically nominated herself for an Oscar.

By: DeuceBigelow0

DeuceBigelow0 — Sun, 22 May 2016 03:28:14 +0000

Oh my God, the spin!! "Accusations" didn't "fly" about Bigelow And Boal "having special access" to CIA information, they BRAGGED about basing their script "on classified information" in Variety Magazine in 2011. Go read the article. Wake up!! The public is intelligent!

By: RNL

RNL — Sun, 22 May 2016 03:28:14 +0000

I don't see an anti-torture statement in all her apologetics about "different methodologies".

By: shane

shane — Sun, 22 May 2016 03:28:14 +0000

All hunt-for-osama films will always be failures.

By: DrDang

DrDang — Sun, 22 May 2016 03:28:14 +0000

Also, what Tim said.

By: DrDang

DrDang — Sun, 22 May 2016 03:28:14 +0000

I'm anticipating this movie like crazy and I'm hoping to walk away with the same experience and opinion as the writer. However, I would like to add something to the debate. It's a movie, movies are subjective, history is perceived differently etc are good arguments but they are also smart arguments. I think the concern that some of the journalists (and I) have is what the casual moviegoer will walk away with. The fact that this films aspires (and apparently succeeds) to be hyper-realistic only confounds this. Compare this with, say the accuracy debate over The Social Network, which *felt* highly dramatised from the get go; and I think that in this case the pundits may have more of a point.

By: Tim

Tim — Sun, 22 May 2016 03:28:14 +0000

"Making matters worse are those pundits that have jumped on the bandwagon and dubbed the film 'pro-torture' because those tactics were among those used to assist in the capture and killing of Bin Laden (that kind of logic is pretty hilarious, frankly)."

It's amazing that after all of the protracted debate about this, this simple fact is still unclear to so many people: those tactics were NOT used to assist in the capture and killing of Bin Laden. THAT'S the reason for the controversy. If you read the letter written by the Senators who objected to the film, and who have actually read the classified reports, this distortion is precisely the reason they are publicly objecting. I've yet to see the film, and so I can't comment on its depiction of torture (from what I've read, calling it "pro-torture" seems overblown), but the only part of this debate I see as being "pretty hilarious" is the part where those defending that depiction as an accurate representation of the historical record don't even understand what that record is.