The post-9/11 television series 24 brought the ticking time bomb scenario into our homes weekly. Other popular programs such as Lost and Law & Order, as well as many films, have also shown scenes of torture.
In her essay, Mae includes a bar graph she found on the Web site Human Rights First to show how prevalent scenes of torture became during the period her authors are writing about, and she asks us to think about whether the hostage and ticking time bomb scenarios so often used to justify torture are Hollywood fantasies or real-life situations.
To judge Mae’s essay against your own experience, consider the films and television shows you have seen where someone is tortured. Was the torturer the “good guy” or the “bad guy”? Was the torture quick and effective? Was it depicted as justifiable, even patriotic? Your instructor may ask you to post your thoughts on a class discussion board or to discuss them with other students in class. Use these questions to get started: