Black Box Report

While conservatives were relieved to not have to endure another Michael Moore documentary win at last night's Academy Awards, they weren't particularly happy with the film that did win for Best Documentary Feature, Taxi to the Dark Side. New York Post film critic Kyle Smith writes on his blog:

“Move away from the dark side and back to the light,” the director of “Taxi to the Dark Side” says. I doubt our troops agree that we are stuck in the dark side. I think they would argue that the vast majority of them abide by the law, by the rules of engagement and by their own moral compasses, yet they get little feeling of support from their country because those who work in the media are bent on presenting sordid, depraved and illegal acts committed by members of the military and intelligence services (which are of course elements in this war, as they are in every war) as the norm in order to undercut the war and defund the troops.

So even though the film depicted actual events that were, in his own words, "sordid, depraved and illegal," it's wrong to condone this film because, hey, it happens in every war! Except, of course, it doesn't have to:

FP recently spoke with former FBI Special Agent Jack Cloonan, one of the experts interviewed for the film, about his own experience interrogating real al Qaeda detainees. You don't have to use force to make a terrorist break down and cry, Cloonan says -- just brains.

Conservatives other well-worn complaint is that this film is just liberal Hollywood's latest effort to undercut the war. Because if we all just stick our heads in the sand and pretend that everything our military does is as pure as the driven snow, then we can't possibly be involved in an unjust war that undermines our credibility in the Middle East, while running up high costs in blood and treasure. But you know what undercuts the war even more? Torturing and killing innocent people:

The film had a hard time of it -- the Discovery Channel and the MPAA both threw up obstacles in the way of the story of a young Afghan cab driver who was suspected of being a Taliban fighter and was tortured to death. It was deemed "too controversial."

Nothing can right the shameful wrong of his death, or erase the enduring black mark on the legacy of the nation responsible for torturing him and others. But kudos to the filmmakers for making sure that the story did get told,.

If, like Kyle Smith, you concede that "sordid, depraved and illegal" acts are being perpetrated in Iraq in our name and do nothing to stop them - even go so far as to criticize others who would - then one can only conclude that you are quite pleased with them. Which makes you a little sordid and depraved yourself. The only way to stop these things from happening again the name of the United States is to bring them to light, something documentary filmmakers like Alex Gibney are apparently quite good at.