Was Not Intended as an Instruction Manual
Apr. 18th, 2009 12:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
4thofeleven"You [the CIA] would like to place Zubaydah in a cramped confinement box with an insect. You have informed us [the Department of Justice] that he appears to have a fear of insects. In particular, you would like to tell Zubaydah that you intend to place a stinging insect into the box with him. You would, however, place a harmless insect in the box. You have orally informed us that you would in fact place a harmless insect such as a catapiller in the box with him."
- TIME, 'Bush Torture Memo Approved Use of Insects'
"'You asked me once,' said O'Brien, 'what was in Room 101. I told you that you knew the answer already. Everyone knows it. The thing that is in Room 101 is the worst thing in the world.'...
...'The worst thing in the world,' said O'Brien, 'varies from individual to individual. It may be burial alive, or death by fire, or by drowning, or by impalement, or fifty other deaths. There are cases where it is some quite trivial thing, not even fatal.'...
- TIME, 'Bush Torture Memo Approved Use of Insects'
"'You asked me once,' said O'Brien, 'what was in Room 101. I told you that you knew the answer already. Everyone knows it. The thing that is in Room 101 is the worst thing in the world.'...
...'The worst thing in the world,' said O'Brien, 'varies from individual to individual. It may be burial alive, or death by fire, or by drowning, or by impalement, or fifty other deaths. There are cases where it is some quite trivial thing, not even fatal.'...
...'In your case,' said O'Brien, 'the worst thing in the world happens to be rats.'"
- George Orwell, 'Nineteen Eighty-Four'
no subject
on 2009-04-18 12:21 am (UTC)Something occurred to me. You know how on 24 it always, always works when Jack Bauer tortures someone, so your dilemma is getting the truth and saving lives vs. not being the sort of person who uses torture? There's another movie that made a good point about this situation:
Because if you're a rebel or terrorist or otherwise engaged in warfare against a government, of course you would have a plausible-sounding lie prepared in case you're tortured for information. I mean... DUH.
Even Tarkin and Darth Freaking Vader figure this out and give up. When Star Wars is more realistic than your gritty real-world-based drama, you have a problem.
no subject
on 2009-04-18 02:44 am (UTC)Hell, even the Spanish Inquisition knew torture wasn't useful for anything other than extracting confessions.
no subject
on 2009-04-20 02:01 am (UTC)Though that's true about the TV dichotomy of good guys never break/bad guys are always cowards who do. SW has Nemoidians, so I guess they're equal there.
Except that there's Not!Traitor Lando, who sells out Han for reasons having nothing to do with courage or lack of it (we know he's got enough courage to contradict Vader and bargain for Leia's and Chewie's lives, then rebel against the Empire while they're still in the city). No torture, technically, but there is the threat of hurting lots of people he cares about. So I think SW still wins in the realism department.