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I don't know its backstory, but from my relatively superficial perspective, I view the TV show "24" as one of the most successful instances of propaganda ever c

I don't know its backstory, but from my relatively superficial perspective, I view the TV show "24" as one of the most successful instances of propaganda ever created. I don't care what its individual participants may have to say about its role. "Everyone" seemed to be watching it, and it seems to at least correlate with an increasing public attitude in the U.S. that "the [t-word] could be / are everywhere". And with the attitude that "anything is justified" if it "stops them". Seriously, if non-U.S. participants here want some insight into the recent U.S. psyche -- on a general level -- one good starting point would be to watch "24".

rangibaby 13y ago
Do you mean the same 24 where a generic Arab nation plants a nuke in LA? ...a plot that is revealed to be a frame up by a white oil tycoon to start a war and drive up the price of his product. Thankfully in-show, the wise black president (in 2002!) has the sense to call his bombers off. IRL we got wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
rdouble 13y ago
It might seem like everyone watched 24 but in reality the viewership was around 11 million at its peak. Which is a good viewership for a TV serial but also means that 300 million Americans haven't seen it.
smacktoward 13y ago
You're not wrong. 24's influence on public opinion on the question of torture was profound and significant -- especially among young people who were most likely to be attracted to careers in the military. It got so bad that the dean of the US Military Academy at West Point begged them to stop, because he was distressed at the opinions about torture he was seeing among his cadets (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/02/19/070219fa_fact_mayer?currentPage=all http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/02/19/070219fa_fact_...): U.S. Army Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan, the dean of the United States Military Academy at West Point, flew to Southern California to meet with the creative team behind “24.”... Finnegan and the others had come to voice their concern that the show’s central political premise—that the letter of American law must be sacrificed for the country’s security—was having a toxic effect. In their view, the show promoted unethical and illegal behavior and had adversely affected the training and performance of real American soldiers. “I’d like them to stop,” Finnegan said of the show’s producers. “They should do a show where torture backfires.” ... Finnegan told the producers that “24,” by suggesting that the U.S. government perpetrates myriad forms of torture, hurts the country’s image internationally. Finnegan, who is a lawyer, has for a number of years taught a course on the laws of war to West Point seniors—cadets who would soon be commanders in the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. He always tries, he said, to get his students to sort out not just what is legal but what is right. However, it had become increasingly hard to convince some cadets that America had to respect the rule of law and human rights, even when terrorists did not. One reason for the growing resistance, he suggested, was misperceptions spread by “24,” which was exceptionally popular with his students. As he told me, “The kids see it, and say, ‘If torture is wrong, what about “24”?’ ” They didn't stop, of course, but star Kiefer Sutherland did agree to speak at West Point to remind cadets that the show was fiction (http://www.hollywood.com/news/tv/3662740/u-s-army-invites-kiefer-sutherland-to-give-anti-torture-speech http://www.hollywood.com/news/tv/3662740/u-s-army-invites-ki...).

rangibaby 13y ago

Do you mean the same 24 where a generic Arab nation plants a nuke in LA? ...a plot that is revealed to be a frame up by a white oil tycoon to start a war and drive up the price of his product. Thankfully in-show, the wise black president (in 2002!) has the sense to call his bombers off. IRL we got wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

rdouble 13y ago

It might seem like everyone watched 24 but in reality the viewership was around 11 million at its peak. Which is a good viewership for a TV serial but also means that 300 million Americans haven't seen it.

smacktoward 13y ago

You're not wrong. 24's influence on public opinion on the question of torture was profound and significant -- especially among young people who were most likely to be attracted to careers in the military. It got so bad that the dean of the US Military Academy at West Point begged them to stop, because he was distressed at the opinions about torture he was seeing among his cadets (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/02/19/070219fa_fact_mayer?currentPage=all http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/02/19/070219fa_fact_...): U.S. Army Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan, the dean of the United States Military Academy at West Point, flew to Southern California to meet with the creative team behind “24.”... Finnegan and the others had come to voice their concern that the show’s central political premise—that the letter of American law must be sacrificed for the country’s security—was having a toxic effect. In their view, the show promoted unethical and illegal behavior and had adversely affected the training and performance of real American soldiers. “I’d like them to stop,” Finnegan said of the show’s producers. “They should do a show where torture backfires.” ... Finnegan told the producers that “24,” by suggesting that the U.S. government perpetrates myriad forms of torture, hurts the country’s image internationally. Finnegan, who is a lawyer, has for a number of years taught a course on the laws of war to West Point seniors—cadets who would soon be commanders in the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. He always tries, he said, to get his students to sort out not just what is legal but what is right. However, it had become increasingly hard to convince some cadets that America had to respect the rule of law and human rights, even when terrorists did not. One reason for the growing resistance, he suggested, was misperceptions spread by “24,” which was exceptionally popular with his students. As he told me, “The kids see it, and say, ‘If torture is wrong, what about “24”?’ ” They didn't stop, of course, but star Kiefer Sutherland did agree to speak at West Point to remind cadets that the show was fiction (http://www.hollywood.com/news/tv/3662740/u-s-army-invites-kiefer-sutherland-to-give-anti-torture-speech http://www.hollywood.com/news/tv/3662740/u-s-army-invites-ki...).