Why I Hate Fox
Fox has ruined 24.
For those of you who haven't seen this previously-wonderful television series, the premise was that each episode was shown in "real time" and that an entire season spanned a 24 hour day. The protagonist was a government agent named Jack Bauer who worked for the Los Angeles Counter-Terrorist Unit (CTU). And it was fantastic.
The plot was intricate and well-developed. The performances were solid and dramatic. The special effects were great. It was like watch a movie that was 24 hours long. To this day, it's pretty much the only television that I watch in any given week.
But last episode, it made me seriously angry.
There are times when 24 touches on contentious issues, such as the use of torture to extract information from prisoners. In the last episode, a suspect was captured and being prepped for torture, when a lawyer from "Amnesty Global" arrived and forced the agents to stop. The "Amnesty Global" lawyer was painted as the bad guy, who was stopping the noble CTU agents from saving America from the threat of a rogue nuclear bomb.
Aside from the very, very obvious dig at Amnesty International, a well-respected NGO that works to stop persecution and torture around the world, Fox is clearly pushing the agenda that American agents should be free to use torture whenever and wherever they see fit. Of course, as part of this you're expected to disregard the fact that the situation they describe (mere minutes left to stop a hijacked nuclear bomb from being detonated on American soil) is extremely improbable.
For the record, I acknowledge that there might arise an extreme situation where physical interrogation is necessary to procure vital, timely intelligence. However, there should be a program set up to obtain legal authority to conduct such actions, and they should be subject to government and public scrutiny. It should be only used as a last resort, only in very extreme situations, and done in the most humane way possible. It should not happen because a bunch of part-time Military Police enlisted members are told to 'lean on' some know-nothing prisoners, as we saw in Abu Ghraib.
If this wasn't enough, the new President is essentially a poorly-done caricature of John Kerry. I think the only way they could've painted him as a weaker, more indecisive character would be if they had him begging the terrorists not to hurt him. It was brutal. Oh, and of course he agreed with "Amnesty Global", so he's clearly the enemy of freedom.
This goes much further, and I'm going to stop watching.
Oh, Fox. Why did you have to ruin the one television show that I really enjoy?
posted by Ryan @ 12:46 p.m.
10 comments
10 Comments:
Hey... It's not improbable... Surely you haven't forgotten how much red-tape there is within the Government?
Must I remind you of an incient, involving the army asking me to do a radio-transmitting specific job, requiring millions of dollars of equipment to work (and transmit), yet when push came to shove, I was told that I wasn't legally allowed to actually transmit (for fear or me interfering with spacecraft or airplanes or some such garbage) without proper authority? And of course, contracting AIDS twice may have been easier than getting said authority Good ol' army. So much red-tape... so little time!
But I digress...
Fox is great for being ridiculously biased. We all know this... yet we all still watch it (Although, I mostly watch the Simpsons and that's it).
Red tape can be a pain in the ass, but its no excuse for abusing prisoners. Torture that's required in a time of crisis... well... that's another issue... and one I don't want to think about. Not an easy thing to choose or do, and I'm sure even the most left AI supporters would agree.
Hee hee... "Humane torture"... what's that?... Forcing the victim to get a root canal?
Lang: Poor Kiefer. That show's doomed anyways, they may as well go out with a bang.
'Nee: At least they're bringing back Family Guy. Thank goodness for small miracles.
Channing: It's difficult to know where to draw the line in terms of using physical force to obtain information. In general, it's just plain ineffective. You don't get good intelligence from it, and people usually can hold out a certain amount of time. And the good it does do you in terms of intelligence is more than offset by the negative public image that results (to say nothing of the morality). That said, there's a difference between something like pain by nerve induction or drug-assisted interrogation instead of straight-out beatings and sadism. Truth be told, I can't think of any realistic scenario that would require it. 24, as entertaining as it is, is pure fiction.
Drug assisted interogations are fine by me. As long as the drugs used are really good drugs!
I'm not saying that physical torture is ever really a decent option... However, it would be understandable in an extreme case if someone lost their cool and resorted to beating someone (Albiet very desperately) for information. They'd likely not be sucessful and it might not matter... but if they were... well... that's another topic for another day.
Good ol' Futurama... Probably the greatest show that Fox ever aired... But I guess they had enough of their own shows bashing their views (not to mention their name) with the Simpsons... Futurama was just too much, and Fox wasn't required to pay homage to it (as they are with The Simpsons) for helping make Fox the giant that it is.
I agree with you somewhat on yesterday's episode. I felt exactly the same thing when I was watching it, that it was yet another way to fool everyone into thinking there's the need to give absolute power to the government and its various defence departments, but I don't think you should knee-jerk the blame towards Fox just yet.
And yeah, the stuff about Logan was bullshit, but how else are they going to bring Dennis Haysbert back?
*sigh*
The world is GAY 4 DENNIS
BTW, Family Guy is going to suck a bag of dicks. Have you seen the ads for it?
Does Dennis play David Palmer? Because if he is, then that would be excellent (if slightly cheesy). I'm not sure where exactly the blame lies, but I think Fox (and by proxy, Rupert Murdoch) are a safe hunch.
The Family Guy ad (singular) that I saw during 24 looked pretty good. But you never know. It's like cough syrup. It used to be great, then they messed around with the formula and watered it down. No good.
It just makes me sad. 24 is one of those things that I wanted to have go on forever and get better every year. Not exactly a realistic expectation, is it?
Unsurprising! Fox is the most right-wing news outfit in the States right now - why wouldn't that ideology permeate into their entertainment programming as well? They've got to stay "on message" - or whatever the term is.
This reminds me of a fiasco I heard about involving NBC in the '80s. Networks are required by law to air a certain number of public service announcements (PSAs) -- y'know, "Winners don't do drugs," all that jazz. But, PSAs cut into advertising time... so, how to minimize the time you have to devote to them?
Cut a backroom deal with the US government (via the FCC) which lets your network off a certain number of PSAs if you agree to include, e.g., anti-drug plotlines in your shows. (Cosby apparently did this, if memory serves.) No one notices, people get the warm-fuzzies because Theo didn't smoke crack, and NBC execs order up some more high-class whores for their board meetings.
("But first... the whores!")
Anyway, this whole 24 thing doesn't surprise me. That's why I stick to TVO, Newsworld, and the Comedy Network. Everything else is ABSOLUTE SHITE, except for "Killer Instinct," 'cause that guy's the bomb.
JTL: Don't get me wrong. There was never a point when I had 24 confused with Masterpiece Theatre. It was always ultra-dramatic, glitzy, and over-the-top. But that was it's charm.
Now's it's all of that, but with a subtle right-wing undertone that leaves me wanting to take a shower or five after each episode.
Looking back, this has been going on for most of season 4, and I didn't want to admit it. It started right off the bat, when the US SecDef made a derogatory comment to his son (comparing him to Michael Moore), and generally proceeded to marginalize all those who don't fallow the government line as kind of loopy, conspiracy-loving, scruffy-haired, dirty hippies.
Tavis: I really need to watch some Arrested Development. I've never seen the show, but have heard from many many people that it's amazing. But I think it's your endorsement that will make me start watching. Any show that's worth a good round of firebombing is a show that's worth watching.
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