Newyorker.com: Making Them Talk: Jane Mayer on "24"

[badreligion1231]

I know this was posted a couple years ago but hey Jane , 24 is a FICTIONAL TV show what you see on screen isnt a federal agent torturing another person its one actor shooting a scene with another actor . Just because a few bad apples can't distinguish fiction from reality is not the shows fault so go do something more useful with your time like report on REAL human rights violations rather than piss and moan about a TV show you idiot .

[mrbain123]

Talk about manipulation, At 4.53 they cut that clip as Mary Warner was telling them about the "van". However it was revealed just after that that she was lying and the bomb was still on the base.

[BauerAddictWebsite]

We are not usually a channel to right comments so consider yourself lucky. With that said, we hate and despise when government officials and other people in the media dish on '24'. Jack Bauer is a fictional character on a TV show! He knows what he is doing and in season 4 he admitted that no one understands the consequences better than he does. Terrorists don't care about our laws and procedures. All they care about is a result. It's the agents job to stop them from accomplishing their results.

[LeechLoverable]

There's no other way .. And that kind of thinking is too limited.

[singletb]

h2t2t2p2:2/2/2f2o2r2u2m2s2.2f2 o2x2.2c2o2m2/2f2o2x22242/2m2e2 s2s2a2g2e2s2/2?2m2s2g2=2123282 822292.212

see every 2nd letter for link to some examples

[singletb]

I can give many examples from the show where torture just plain doesnt work: Marie Warner (S2), Graem Bauer(S6-only told them about Palmer but not about Philip bauer). Sarah Gavin (innocent), Richard Heller (S4), George Mason being roughed up (S1), Ramon Salazar (S3), MIcheel Amador (S3), Nina Myers(S3) ..... phfft

[singletb]

lol 2 example you used show that torture didn't work (marie warner, richard heller) so i really think u should have done ur research better

[cha0sXT]

TELL ME WHERE THE BOMB IS

[CTUDirectorJackBauer]

And "developing a rapport?" You don't create a rapport with these people. These are hardened believers in a misguided cause. They only speak violence, so we must speak their language better than them.

We need more people like Jack Bauer. The UN, these generals, the international community, all of them have no clue how to fight this war. If we manage to win, it will be because of men like Jack Bauer, and not because of women like Ms. Mayer who question the decisions of the operator.

[CTUDirectorJackBauer]

I have to disagree with the dean of West Point. In my Army experience, I've found that generals have been so far removed from the front lines that they don't know what it takes to make someone talk, don't know the risks the man on the ground faces.

While 24 does represent torture unrealistically (it's not 100% effective), it is an expedient and effective tool, if used properly. Those who are against torture are fools for thinking we can fight the terrorists with Queensbury Rules.

[zarrow50]

jack bauer only uses torture because he is gay and has a small dick.

[lushlars]

wow. i cant watch this.

[ROCKER86]

torture should be legal

[JamesBond77]

"Torture is illegal internationally". Everybody know that but everybody know torture is used everyday across the world ...

[shama595]

The fact that the dean of Westpoint - a Brigadier-General - says that torture is ineffectual seriously undermines the position of anyone who is "okay with torture".

[badreligion1231]

@shama595 Also , Kiefer Sutherland went one year to speak to a graduating class about Torture and how it doesn't work and what they see on the show is fake .

[lostinacrowd2]

its a tv show!!!

[s2charisma]

lol I know. if you can't tell the difference between fiction and reality then you have your own problems.

[ALoneSoldier777]

Well it's illegal and immoral but I wouldn't argue that it is ineffectual. 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed broke down and gave us everything he knew inside of 14 min of water boarding allowing us to save the Brooklyn Bridge. My perspective is that war is immoral (hell) and the more immoral and hard it is the quicker it will be over. No point in trying to reform something as ugly as war. So year I am okay with torture.

[ROCKER86]

agree with you, the war is not working and torture at any need is needed

[rwclark]

Jane Mayer's article and video are compelling, forcing me to consider how I can reconcile being opposed to torture and being a fan of the show.

[wesleyc]

the new yorker article was an exceptional read: damning, incisive, and very informative.

[frozenyogurt17]

I don't think that she meant to suggest that 24 has any overt political/ ideological motives.  However, what this program does do is provide a rational for torture, while ignoring the fact that these practices are both illegal and ineffective.

[alic88]

The person answered her own question, in real life situations there is no such thing/or hasn't been an issue like a time ticking terrorist suspect who knows about a bomb. So at the end of the day this show is unrealistic, and at the end of the day what matters to the creators is an interesting storyline, plain and simple.