Bin Laden film attacked for ‘perpetuating torture myth’

DHAKA: A new film about the hunt for Osama Bin Laden is ‘inaccurate’ for suggesting torture helped lead to his discovery.

That is according to three US senators who outlined their objections to ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ in a letter to the head of Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar-tipped drama, their letter claims, is ‘perpetuating the myth that torture is effective’.

In a statement, Bigelow said her film depicts ‘a variety of controversial practices and intelligence methods’.

According to the director and ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ screenwriter Mark Boal, no single method was responsible in the successful manhunt for the terrorist leader, reports the BBC.

The letter, made public on Wednesday, was co-signed by Dianne Feinstein, Carl Levin and former Presidential candidate John McCain.

The trio, all of whom are members of the Senate Intelligence committee, said that Sony and its CEO, Michael Lynton, had an obligation to alter the movie.

‘The fundamental problem is that people who see ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ will believe that the events it portrays are facts,’ the three senators wrote.

‘The film therefore has the potential to shape American public opinion in a disturbing and misleading manner.’

BDST: 1945 HRS, DEC 20, 2012
Edited by Robab Rosan, Cultural Affairs Editor, eic@banglanews24.com