04.07 | Fox’s '24': propaganda thinly disguised as television programming
The weekly Fox network television series entitled '24' is an extreme example of this genre. Its propaganda value is revealed in story lines that promote racist stereotypes of Arab Americans and other ethnic groups. Even more politically insidious, this year's season is replete with scenes of torture administered to various suspected terrorists or their associates by US government operatives. '24' offers such stomach-turning scenes every week. These sequences no doubt reflect, first of all, the sadistic imaginations of those producing the program. They are also designed to shock and presumably appeal to the most backward viewers — a politically perverse example of the scenes that characterize a show like 'Fear Factor'. Moreover, this systematic presentation of torture is intended to inure the population and convey the message that this barbaric treatment is somehow acceptable in the 'global war on terror'.
Here's some nonsense that claims that '24' is tool of Rupert Murdoch's anti-Arab agenda and forms an excuse for America going overboard in its The War On Terror. I call 'bullshit' on that, frankly. Yes Rupert Murdoch is a funny little man, but he'll love anyone, even Arabs, that sign up and pay for his TV channels or newspapers. After all, he's got mouths to feed so they can grow up and take over his world-sprawling and tax-avoiding empire.
It does make some good points about Karl Rove's pleas to Hollywood in the immediate aftermath of September 11th, though.
On a similar note, bottomhalf.blogspot.com asks "is '24' trying to legitimise the use of torture?"
