Overview
Zero Dark Thirty is a 2012 film that tracks and depicts the search for Osama Bin Laden. It follows the lead, Maya, a CIA intelligence official in her quest to find Bin Laden through whatever means necessary – including torture. After a series of dead-ends, Maya eventually finds Bin Laden and the good guys win. The final scenes of the movie show the invasion of Bin Laden’s compound and his assassination. The movie was particularly notable for the attention it received in the media for its raw depictions of torture by CIA officials.
In his book, Reel Bad Arabs, Jack Shaheen discusses the types of Islamophobic stereotypes portrayed in films. The most prominent of them is that of the “Bad Arab”, someone that is always evil, a terrorist, and constantly causing violence. Zero Dark Thirty utilizes that stereotype in a number of ways. Historical Inaccuracy
Rather than creating outrage for morally bankrupt actions, the narrative arc of the film serves to legitimize torture. The ultimate success of the movie’s main character serves to make the end justify the means. Throughout the movie, horrific incidents of torture are rationalized by the possibility of ultimately finding Osama Bin Laden and preventing another terrorist attack. Torture is seen as something that was essential to the capture of Bin Laden.
However, this is historically inaccurate. Multiple CIA officials have confirmed that none of the intelligence that led to the assassination of Bin Laden even came from detainees that were in the United States’ possession. Panetta, former CIA director, has conceded that "we first learned about 'the facilitator/courier's nom de guerre' from a detainee not in the CIA's custody" and that "no detainee in CIA custody revealed the facilitator/courier's full true name or specific whereabouts". This historically false depiction serves to create the image of the Arab/Muslim as someone who normal law enforcement actions fail against. This serves to make extreme actions against them seem justified by their unique dangerousness. |
Presumed Guilt
The use of torture also works by creating the presumption of guilt. A part of Shaheen’s bad Muslim stereotype is the idea that Muslims and Arabs don’t require normal due process because of their default status as guilty. Torture is introduced in the second scene of the movie with potential terrorists locked in a CIA facility. Rather than ever exploring the possibility of their innocence, their guilt is assumed throughout the entire film.
When a prisoner does question his guilt, he is later shown to be lying. This reinforces a stereotype of Muslims as dangerous, lying, and shifty. Torture is justified because they never tell the truth and exceptional measures are needed to ensure they do.
When a prisoner does question his guilt, he is later shown to be lying. This reinforces a stereotype of Muslims as dangerous, lying, and shifty. Torture is justified because they never tell the truth and exceptional measures are needed to ensure they do.
Cultivating Hatred
From the very first scene in the movie, Zero Dark Thirty uses narratives of good guys and bad guys to create audience identification with the CIA officials and anger towards the terrorist enemies. The movie starts with an audio recording of 911 emergency calls made during the attack on September 11th, 2001. The sounds of suffering and violence is used to remind the viewers of the trauma of 9/11. This theme pervades the movies as 9/11 is consistently referenced in scenes of torture, never letting the viewer forget the event. Each Arab person as a result becomes associated as possibly being involved and responsible for the attack.
The reaction to the movie on twitter demonstrated the effects of its overt Islamophobia. Tweets included statements like “Zero Dark Thirty makes me want to shoot at Arabs with assault rifles” and “Zero Dark Thirty makes me hate Muslims”. This reflects the capacity of Islamophobic representations in movies to fuel individual racialized anxiety and create the conditions for hate crimes and extremist violence. This is reflective of Gottschalk and Greenberg’s argument that Islamophobia exists as a “social anxiety toward Islam and Muslim cultures that is largely unexamined by, yet deeply ingrained in, Americans.” It is through the reaction to movies like Zero Dark Thirty that these anxieties surface. The calls to violence in these tweets are uniquely indicative of the way that Islamophobia creates real violence for Muslim populations. Gottschalk and Greenberg go on to describe how Muslims “increasingly become targets of hate crimes and discrimination.”
The reaction to the movie on twitter demonstrated the effects of its overt Islamophobia. Tweets included statements like “Zero Dark Thirty makes me want to shoot at Arabs with assault rifles” and “Zero Dark Thirty makes me hate Muslims”. This reflects the capacity of Islamophobic representations in movies to fuel individual racialized anxiety and create the conditions for hate crimes and extremist violence. This is reflective of Gottschalk and Greenberg’s argument that Islamophobia exists as a “social anxiety toward Islam and Muslim cultures that is largely unexamined by, yet deeply ingrained in, Americans.” It is through the reaction to movies like Zero Dark Thirty that these anxieties surface. The calls to violence in these tweets are uniquely indicative of the way that Islamophobia creates real violence for Muslim populations. Gottschalk and Greenberg go on to describe how Muslims “increasingly become targets of hate crimes and discrimination.”