More Debate On “Zero Dark” And Torture
The debate keeps raging in the media about whether “Zero Dark Thirty” is a pro-torture film. Andrew Sullivan says no, but asks: “One has to wonder whether any morally serious director would have chosen a morally-neutral approach to torture if she were portraying torture practiced by, say, the Iranian terror state, or by Nazis or Communists?” Of course, all this chatter only ensures that the movie saturates the mind of a public wider than what it could have expected before the dam broke. But “The Hurt Locker” also got lots of attention (and a best-picture Oscar) but it didn’t do much box office. I’m not sure that “Zero Dark Thirty” will attract many more paying customers than “Hurt Locker” did. Critics and pundits drive the discussion, but in 2012 they generally don’t drive ticket sales.
