24: Real Time, Real World

I try very hard to avoid political discussions in The Other Worlds; the point of this website is to discuss entertaining films, television shows, and books, not to put forth my own insignificant political leanings. However, 24 has become a lightning rod for political debate due to the real world debates regarding its subject matter. The show is extremely conservative; the heroes have been known to utilize torture and circumvent the law to get information that allows them to stop the terrorists at the last minute (usually).

There is a bit of a chicken-or-the-egg phenomenon going on with the show; many of the events in the show simultaneously occurred in real life, and it was hard to keep track which happened first. Or, I guess I should say that many things that did happen in the show were debated in real life. In Season 6, in response to a series of terrorist attacks, the government set up interment camps for people suspected of terrorism. This was similar to Guantanamo, except in the show, the people rounded up were actually American citizens. I remember when it was airing, I spoke to a professor of mine who was actually concerned that American citizens would soon be shipped to Gitmo. Throughout the show, characters have used torture to get information and justified it by preventing catastrophes. Torture was a big deal during the Bush Administration, and there were numerous debates about whether torture was justified. A few politicians actually cited 24 as a reason why we should torture terrorist suspects (I used to have a link to back up this allegation, but it is gone, so you will have to take my word for it). Apparently, these politicians are unaware that the show is fucking fiction. At the same time, members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the CIA have criticized the show for its depiction of torture and the use of the ticking time-bomb scenario.

One thing I think the show takes too much crap for is its depiction of Muslims. In Seasons 4 and 6, Muslim Awareness groups balked at the fact that the terrorists that year were Muslims. Sadly, the way Muslims have been treated in real life in America in the wake of the September, 11 attacks has been horrible. But to say that 24 has singled them out and continually used them as villains is (pretty much) bullshit. Yes, some of the terrorists in Seasons 2, 4, and 6 were Muslim. But the worst terrorists have always been white. In the first season, the terrorists were American mercenaries and Serbian warlords. In Season 2, there were American terrorists working below the Muslims and American and German terrorists working above them. In Season 3, a rogue British spy was pulling the strings of Mexican drug lords. In Seasons 5 and 6, the Russians were behind things. And in Seasons 4-6, the Chinese have made their presence known as villains. The bottom line: no one group of people has been singled out as "THE VILLAINS". In fact, in Season 2, there was a multi-episode story involving a Muslim special agent who was attacked by a bunch of rednecks (sorry), who had to be taught some manners by Jack Bauer.

I'm surprised that women aren't more up in arms about the show than Muslims. The show has consistently been straddling the line of mysogony. With few exceptions, every woman on the show is either crazy, clueless, or evil. Kim Bauer was kidnapped so often that fans would refer to the incidents as "Kimnappings", and most women who were in similar situations became basket cases. Then there were the evil ones. In Season 1, two very important female characters turned out to be evil (ok, one was more of a Lady MacBeth, but she was still pretty bad). I think that the only woman who was ever completely competent was Michelle Dessler. The other two "strong women" of the show are Chloe O'Brien and Martha Logan, but both of them were still pretty crazy.

I like this show because it is entertaining, but I sometimes have a hard time swallowing its politics. However, I think it would be much easier if so many of the deplorable things that happened in it weren't the subject of actual debates. But that would mean that our world was not complex, which it certainly is.

Up next: A few updates...