A little "24" analysis, anyone?

I just rented the first three discs of Season 4 (re: Middle Eastern terrorists try to take over nuclear plants) and found the shows compelling, yet VERY disturbing. In fact, watching "24" leaves me feeling like a total hypocrite as a peacemongering pacifist, but I am addicted to action/suspense and sometimes violent TV and cinema. For instance, I loved the original "Terminator." The second "Aliens" movie (with bad-ass Vasquez) is one of my all-time favorites. And I loved "Topgun." Every time I watched that movie, I wanted to get on a motorcycle and go really fast!

But I'm straying. The reasons I found last season of "24" so disturbing, aside from the gross and obvious scenes of torture, are as follows:

So far, the two characters on the "good guy" side that have been tortured, and subsequently found to be good guys still, both turned around and helped the people who physically caused them pain. That's just sick! That to me is so wrong. I'm sure any psych majors or psychologists on DU would be able to provide me with cases and a name for this type of behavior. Transferrance or something? At least the Secretary of Defense's kid (remember him from early on in the season? He was the Birkenstock wearing, long-haired, tree-hugging "librl") did NOT forgive his father OR CTU for torturing him when all was said and done. But I haven't watched the whole season yet (3 more discs to go, so please don't give anything away! The Habib guy is still on the loose is where I left off).

I found it interesting, if not outright disturbing, that the casting crew was unable to get any actors of truly Middle Eastern descent to play the terrorists. Habib looks Egyptian, if anything. The son looks white, or maybe Jewish, with bad makeup, and the mom--what is her nationality? certainly not Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.?

And finally, I just HATE how the writers are stereotyping the blacks on the show as black men being emasculated by ambitious black women: Palmer got messed with by his ex-wife, and now it turns out the black CTU agent was sleeping with a spy, who tried to take him down! What was up with that?! In contrast, the white "couples" are portrayed completely differently: Jack trying to save and protect his wife in the first season. Jack trying to save and protect his daughter in the 2nd (or maybe it was the 3rd) season; Jack trying to save and protect his girlfriend (Sect'y of Defense's married-but-separated daughter in this season). If you juxtapose the roles, the white women are portrayed as precious commodoties to be cherished and protected at all costs; the black women are portrayed as devious, lying, undermining bithces with no other agenda than to get ahead and fuck over black men! I don't like that one little bit! I let it slide the season Palmer was president, because I thought it was really cool to have a black president on TV, but twice now they have portrayed smart, strong, powerful black men as being under the thumb of these black bitches! From my perspective, it's racist and it is an ugly manifestation of "perception management" that is discussed on another thread in another forum.

So, what do YOU think?

:hi:

I find it simply TeeVee to support the need to "fight" terrorism. Too much of fictional TeeVee gets blended into the thinking of people and the 'but it could happen thinking' of so many inept 'good Amerikans'.

24 is boycotted in this household and I will be happy when it is finally removed from the lineup.

I'm looking forward to 24's return this Sunday, but I must admit it's a guilty pleasure. It goes against everything I believe, but it has from time to time pointed out some of the right wing practices don't work.

Actually, the woman who played the terrorist's wife was born in Tehran Iran and is famous Iranian actress. I'm not sure about the husband or son's background. The actor that plays the father has also played Latino, Italian America, and now Arab characters.

Usually I'm sensitive to writer falling back on old stereotypes, but I've never sought Palmer was the emasculated black man. You leave out two important women as Nina Myers betrays and killed Jack wife. She was also able to use her relationship with Tony to keep him from turning her in to superiors in season 1. The second white girl shoot and killed her Arab boyfriend than tried to setoff a nuclear bomb over LA. So White women haven't come off looking that pure or desirable. Frankly, I don't see any group getting held up as that good or bad in the series.