I'll be blunt: I despise "24". Apparently the US military feels similarly.
I have some friends who actually watch this and they love it. Historically their house came to a stop while this was on: no talking, no distractions. It's ok - they are my friends; I respect their preferences. I have seen several episodes this way: enough to formulate my opinion.
As an important contextual note, I have to advise that I despise TV in general. I never watch the goddamned thing unless I am away from home a FORCED to enduring its life-wasting presence. This is how I discovered and got to learn enough about this horrible propaganda work.
Actually, I don't know how people cannot see this...well... yes I can. it's the miracle of TV. The n Truth is in plain sight, but it's not mentioned on TV so it sails over the average tv-watcher's sedated noggin.
What propaganda does "24" have in store this season?
The Fox action series "24" has served as a cultural benchmark for years. The series, which hit the air waves shortly after 9/11, served for years as a blatant and enthusiastic purveyor of the Bush administration’s most strident fear-mongering "war on terrorism" propaganda, complete with racist depictions of violent Islamic zealots, torture-as-acceptable, outside 9/11-type threats to the US homeland coming from all directions -- evil denizens of the Middle East, Russia, and China.
Yet, last season (see "24" reflects a betrayed America), the series did something of a 180, reflecting the new national distaste for the Bush administration. The show’s main villain that had to be taken down was the president of the United States, a murdering, Constitution-destroying Bush/Nixon lunatic fronting for a neocon cabal, manufacturing terrorism and setting up 9/11 catastrophes in order to control world energy. (Not far from the truth, this time.) For these themes to be permitted on prime time television spoke volumes about the national consciousness.
What, indeed, does "24" have planned for 2007? Initial rumors suggest that America will remain under attack from every direction, with major cities blowing up at the hands of both outside "terrorists" as well as war-manufacturing Washington politicians, who are also hell bent on making the US into a police state. It appears that China-baiting will also remain a central theme (the Jack Bauer character was kidnapped and tortured by China at the end of last season). In other words, "24's" America is completely existentialist nightmare, worse than ever.
Newsweek asked if 24’ is a ‘Neocon Sex Fantasy’
Depending on your perspective, "24" is either a neocon sex fantasy or the collective id of our nation unleashed. The show debuted just a few months after 9/11, and its watchful, paranoid visual language was forged in that moment. The very first episode featured a terrorist blowing a plane full of passengers out of the sky. Subsequent story lines about Islamic fundamentalism, the torturing of innocents, biochemical attacks and atrocities broadcast over the Internet felt like they were ripped from the front page of The New York Times. The writers of "24" have always proven willing to brush aside an audience’s natural desire for relief so they can explore the murky, anxious territory of postdisaster scenarios.
Kieth Olberman asks the same question..on video.
Wingnuts think its stupid to call the show "propaganda" and
it seems specious to suggest that conservatives look upon "24" as a validation of their views on the war on terror. Instead, folks that consider the series as anything more than good entertainment see the show as posing possible downsides to inaction and complacency.
For some reason, folks on the left and in the media are missing this seemingly obvious distinction.
Yeah... It's not "neocon propaganda": its a tv essay on "inaction and complacency"...against the boogyman I suppose. No propaganda here, just an important lesson.
Ok.. so much for farness and balance: it IS Neocon propaganda.
The show deals with scenarios that are designed excuses for the dismantling of our civil liberties and constitution.
Particluarly torture. In the few episodes I had to endure the show was arguing we need torture, that torture will provide the Jack Baurers of the world the exact info they need right at the moment the bad guy can be cleanly torured (defib machine) on TV.
The show routinely excuses Jack's violent ways with "terrists" each trangression is part of Neocon propaganda. Torturing suspects, threatening them with guns, whatever. He's not using powerdrills of blowtorches, but he's still torturing people and this is making people think torture is ok, for in America, if it's on TV it's real.
However, now the DOD is telling 24 to stop the torture scenes.No...really
while 24 draws millions of viewers, it appears some people are becoming a little squeamish. The US military has appealed to the producers of 24 to tone down the torture scenes because of the impact they are having both on troops in the field and America's reputation abroad. Forget about Abu Ghraib, forget about Guantanamo Bay, forget even that the White House has authorised interrogation techniques that some classify as torture, that damned Jack Bauer is giving us a bad name.
The United States Military Academy at West Point yesterday confirmed that Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan recently travelled to California to meet producers of the show, broadcast on the Fox channel. He told them that promoting illegal behaviour in the series - apparently hugely popular among the US military - was having a damaging effect on young troops.
According to the New Yorker magazine, Gen Finnegan, who teaches a course on the laws of war, said of the producers: "I'd like them to stop. They should do a show where torture backfires... The kids see it and say, 'If torture is wrong, what about 24'?
"The disturbing thing is that although torture may cause Jack Bauer some angst, it is always the patriotic thing to do."
So I am not alone and the DOD of all people/organizations is on the same page here.
There are some older articles from a couple years ago that dealt with this too and I will eventually find them and place them here.
So, to summarize: FOX's 24 is neocon propaganda and that it's made by FOX and shown on FOX just adds to the reality that FOX is a Team Bush propaganda outlet: All Lies and Bullshit All the time.