“We tortured some folks.” Katherine Bigelow and Mark Boal’s blockbuster on the leadup to Bin Laden’s assassination was alternately ballyhooed and panned upon its release. Fans praised its purported cinematic achievements while critics lamented its alleged militarism or pro-torture sympathies. What’s remarkable today is the attention it received in all directions, perhaps a universal attention no longer possible in a society so fragmented and lost. Van and Lyle try to make sense of the movie as a contested event, and what its ambiguous ending might tell us about what came next. They also recall where they were when Obama ordered Seal Team Six to pull that trigger.
Further Reading
Alfreda Frances Bikowsky, Wiki Entry
Michael Scheuer, Wiki Entry
Imperial Hubris (2004), by Michael Scheuer
“Fake CIA Vaccine Campaign” (2014), by Todd Summers and J. Stephen Morrison
Reign of Terror (2021), by Spencer Ackerman
Subtle Tools (2021), by Karen Greenberg
Homeland (2024), by Richard Beck
Zero Dark Thirty Trailer
Teaser from the Episode
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