Perhaps Quentin Tarantino, director of "Inglourious Basterds," thought it would be a good idea to show moviegoers a more disturbing side of human revenge; perhaps, he was relishing to bestow the lack of kindness the Nazi's had shown to others. Either way, his alternate version of history does little more than glorify the torture of our enemies. The film is, without a doubt, subversive. There are many elements that present interesting, maybe even admirable, messages. Unless viewers take the time to chew over and digest the atrocities played out on the screen, they may be walking away with the idea that torturing enemies is justified, and even satisfying. I spoke with David Coury, UW-Green Bay's resident cinema and film expert, about his thoughts on the film's violence. Although he sees the violence as being made strictly for entertainment value, as Tarantino's version of violence is always somewhat cartoon-ish, he said, "It does raise larger issues about the portrayal of violence in American society." Showing torture is nothing new in film or television. In fact, some shows may make it seem as though torture is useful-I mean, look at Jack Bristow, main character in the TV show "Alias," it works for him-but the true horror and suffering of the person being tortured is removed, and audiences see bad guys as deserving what they get. Have Americans stopped seeing their enemies as human beings? Derek Jeffreys, professor of humanistic studies, said, "I'm not saying it causes people to torture … but it gives people an attitude that torture might be acceptable." "People get desensitized to what it really is … I think that torture is always wrong. It definitely sets up a cycle and the cycle doesn't end; it goes on and on … it can go on for generations." Tarantino, in some ways, shows this cycle." His Jewish-American Nazi hunters, the Basterds, have been created to get revenge. In return for their violent acts, the Nazis respond with violence and brutality. In the end, no one wins. Unfortunately, the characters don't seem to feel that way. They smile and laugh as they carve swastikas into Nazi foreheads. Coury said he believes that Tarantino's underlying irony in his films lends itself to playing with the audience, meaning he might not be endorsing enemy torture after all. Granted, he is showing Nazis getting beat to a pulp, but you end up feeling a touch of empathy for them when they die. Whether a person holds onto that empathy or rejoices over Nazi suffering is what I'm concerned about. Torture is an important issue that we need to take a closer look at. Many people say they are against it, yet support its use in ticking-bomb situations. A former Navy intelligence specialist, who prefers to remain anonymous, acknowledged he is in favor of some enhanced interrogation techniques. After witnessing the waterboarding of fellow officers, he sees it as useful. Many people would agree, because it's easy to think that enemies who aren't giving us information will talk to escape pain and suffering. "You often don't know what the consequences of torture are going to be," Jeffreys said. He explains that such techniques often don't work due to the willingness to lie to evade torture, thus leading to false intelligence. "People don't think about the long-term consequences of torture," Jeffreys said. Allowing torture to continue feeds into a cycle; a cycle that, like Jeffreys said, has consequences down the road. By doing wrong to another person, he or she will likely retaliate with the same kind of violence. The most noticeable feature of this film may be the brutality, but the underlying message is the one we should uphold: torture gets us nowhere. It is a vicious cycle that has no end, and by participating in that cycle we become, to our own dismay, like the very enemies we had fought against.
Tarantino makes torture seem glorious
Published: Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Updated: Monday, August 30, 2010 17:08
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