To say that the movie “Zero Dark Thirty” has come under considerable fire is an understatement — but now director Kathryn Bigelow is speaking out against the heavy criticism facing her film.
In an article for The Los Angeles Times, Bigelow wrote that she believes the torture portrayed in her depiction of the Osama bin Laden hunt and capture did, in fact, play a role in the operation early on. Personally, however, Bigelow said she credits “ingenious detective work” for discovering bin Laden’s hideout, but felt she could not ignore the torture.
“War, obviously, isn’t pretty, and we were not interested in portraying this military action as free of moral consequences,” Bigelow wrote.
She also defended the rights of artists to “create works of art and speak their conscience without government interference or harassment.” She added that her depiction of torture is not an endorsement of it, directly refuting a concern expressed by Senators John McCain, Dianne Feinstein and Carl Levin.
Bigelow said she wonders “if some of the sentiments alternately expressed about the film might be more appropriately directed at those who instituted and ordered these U.S. policies, as opposed to a motion picture that brings the story to the screen.”
Aside from the three Senators’ criticism, “Zero Dark Thirty” has been condemned by the acting director of the CIA. The film’s D.C. opening was also met with protests from individuals dressed like the prisoners of war in Bigelow’s movie.
Earlier this month, the Senate Intelligence Committee announced it would start a probe into the contact between the filmmakers and the CIA.
