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I don't think this was always true. Torture used to be taboo in entertainment. I think that changed after September 11 - you started to see it used extensively
by cturner 11y ago
I don't think this was always true. Torture used to be taboo in entertainment. I think that changed after September 11 - you started to see it used extensively by supposed 'good guys'. I remember noting this when the show 24 was coming through - it broke that rule and polite society seemed to have been disarmed to it. And now it's everywhere and we're the poorer for it.
- smt88 11y agoI guess I was talking about torture in a broader sense. Yes, in 24 and Zero Dark Thirty it's realistic -- a state military or intelligence agency using torture in a prescribed way. They would actually have received training about effective techniques for torturing people, which is pretty chilling in and of itself. But you can also watch the 90s Batman cartoon, where Batman holds criminals off of roofs to get them to talk, or the X-men cartoon where Wolverine puts his claws up to someone's chin. It's not strictly "torture", but using fear (of death) to make someone talk is similar to using pain. The person will do whatever is required to end it, whether that involves being truthful or not. Even worse, you have scenes where James Bond (or some hero) is tortured and doesn't talk. It creates the idea that someone who talks when being tortured is a traitor or is somehow weak. In reality, it's really rare to be able to withstand torture, and the US Dept of Defense doesn't even consider soldiers to have failed their country if they talk.