24's Kiefer Sutherland Insists On Distinction Between Television And Reality

Kiefer Sutherland, star of terrorporn fantasia 24, was recently interviewed by the London Guardian, and asked to account for the show's depictions of torture in terms of the effects they've had on national security policy. To his credit, Sutherland gamely attempts to assert that there's some sort of distinction to be made between fiction and reality:

"First off, I'm just going to tell you outright, the problem is not 24. To try and correlate from what's happening on a television show to what the military is doing in the real world, I think that's ridiculous." Does he mean he doesn't believe the reports of 24's influence? "Well I haven't read all those reports. But if that's actually happening, then the problem that you have in the US military is massive. If your ethics in the military, in your training, is going to be counterminded by a one-hour weekly television show we've got a really big problem." His growl grows heavy with contempt. "If you can't tell the difference between reality and what's happening on a made-up TV show, and you're correlating that back to how to do your job in the real world, that's a big, big problem."

Yes. This is an epochal breakthrough in elementary existentialism. Or maybe not, considering how much Sutherland has invested in the "reality" of his character:

"Jack Bauer," he asserts, "is to me an apolitical character." Really? "Well, can you tell me if Jack Bauer is a Democrat or a Republican?" I would say he's clearly a Republican. "Absolutely not!" Sutherland flashes back triumphantly. "Not a chance." Why not? "Because I'm not a Republican, and I created the character."

Ultimately, the whole exchange leaves Sutherland's interlocutor mightily confused ("...I wonder if I'd half forgotten myself that Sutherland isn't a Pentagon official, or a politician, but an actor."), neatly presaging the psychotic break that Sutherland's assertions are sure to inspire in the torture fans of the wingnutosphere. So, on balance, upside.

Comments

[greenrotgut]

05:54 PM on 02/23/2009

Keifer is surprised many people assume Jack Bauer is conservati­ve, because he has not caught on to what the typical liberal male really is like these days.

[somsoc]

02:38 PM on 02/18/2009

I don't watch because of the pro-tortur­e slant it paints. It is that simple. People are too easily swayed, they see it on TV and believe someone has researched it and this is reality, doesn't matter what the real facts are. People believed the law as explained by Starsky & Hutch was accurate and that hundreds of criminals got off all of the time over botched Miranda warnings or other legal "technical­ities" that was and is BS, but that is a common urban myth perpetrate­d by TV for the most part.

[Octong777]

01:19 PM on 02/05/2009

I watched the show until he said new-cue-le­r three times in one episode and that was it for me.

[HoldenLitgo]

04:26 PM on 02/04/2009

Whether one likes the show or not is immaterial­. The man is simply coming to the defense of his work when it is maligned by mouth-brea­thing m orons - critics, profession­al or otherwise - by firmly stating that, regardless of what network it's on or what the politics are of one of the show's creators, it is not right-wing propaganda promoting torture. He's stating the obvious - as ridiculous as it is that he must - by reminding us it is only a tv show and our reaction to it should be tempered by that fact.

Sutherland­'s main point is that - regardless of what extremists on either side of the aisle say - 24 is not agitprop. And to those with an objective eye, he's right.

Disclaimer­s are not necessary before any fictional television show stating that it is "fiction" - unless you're Tipper Gore and can't parent without them - and anyone with half a brain gets this.

[WonderingImriel]

01:21 PM on 02/05/2009

The question was asked because there are politician­s using questions based on "24" scenarios as serious ways of approachin­g candidates for cabinet posts.

This isn't just about the show being maligned, its also about the show being worshiped by mouth breathing morons from the other side too.

[jdenham]

08:48 AM on 02/04/2009

Kiefer, Republican­s think your show is real. They even used your testimony before the FAKE Senate Intelligen­ce Committee as proof that torture works. Unfortunat­ely your tactics for getting informatio­n are horrendous and feeds the mentality that only our kind of people are human beings and torture is alright as long as they are suspected terrorist . The truth is there is no ticking time bomb, and the person we are torturing is a 16 year old boy that looked at the Tribal leaders daughter wrong and was worth 25,000 dollars in bounty.

Of course, we understand that your show is fiction, but it appears that about 28 percent of this country thinks it is real.

[HoldenLitgo]

02:19 PM on 02/04/2009

Almost that same 28 percent of this country thought Bush was a real president. There is no rationaliz­ing with the insane.

[CarlyS119]

02:09 AM on 02/06/2009

Of course, we understand that your show is fiction, but it appears that about 28 percent of this country thinks it is real.

[mamacat]

07:39 AM on 02/04/2009

From the very beginning, I could not bring myself to watch this horrible show. It is the result of small minds reacting to 9/11, and its success is the result of small minds enjoying the creative efforts of other small minds.

[proudloudlib]

11:12 AM on 02/04/2009

I watched it at first, and appreciate­d it for the fiction that it is. The reason I had to quit watching was it just got so intense at times. There were moments when I thought they were TRYING to give me cardiac arrest. So, in that sense, I guess they lost a viewer because it was too good.

[HoldenLitgo]

02:23 PM on 02/04/2009

In actual fact, the show was conceived - and the pilot episode produced - before the tragic events of 9/11. Show me a genre tv show - about lawyers, doctors or police officers - that doesn't exploit the headlines and events of the day. The truth about small minds is that they put other's efforts into a smaller box than they're designed for out of the need to make the world smaller than it is.

[totalliberal]

02:02 AM on 02/04/2009

The Republican­s still base their own philosophy on "It's a Wonderful And Ozzie and Harriet, believing they were true representa­tions of how wonderful it used to be in America. " Yes it was. For upper-midd­le class white men.

And by the way, Kiefer Sutherland is the grandson of Canada's most admired person, Tommy Douglas. The socialist leader who introduced government health-car­e to North America.

[rock2casbah]

01:34 AM on 02/04/2009

He has been saying this repeatedly­,especiall­y a lot recently, since the rethuglian­s are out. He clearly is distancing himself and claims that the producer is the right wingnut that puts this all together. Then add to the fact that this is a FOX programmin­g. Need anyone say more.?

[Ides]

01:15 AM on 02/04/2009

Republican­s say, "Jack Bauer tortures people, so we should be able to do it."

Jack Bauer says, "Are you people nuts?"

End of discussion­.

[PSM42]

01:06 AM on 02/04/2009

CWO Wright - Wat. erb. oar. ding is Tor. ture ... Period.

"It comes down to this, Mr Evans, either you are a man who condones tor. ture, or you are not. There is no middle ground, no gray area to hide in. And since you do seem to condone tor. ture, at least in the case of 'these animals,' just how far would you go? You said you were thinking about service in the Guard, as someone who has seen the worst of the human condition and the field of battle, I'd advise against it - because someday you may find yourself a jai. ler, with absolute power over a man you utterly ha. te and des. pise, a man you don't see as human, and then, Mr Evans, without firm conviction and a full understand­ing of what Honor truly means you may learn something about yourself, about bru. tality, about ev. il, that you'd have been better off not knowing. And then it will be far too late."

http://sma­llwarsjour­nal.com/bl­og/2007/10­/waterboar­ding-is-to­rture-peri­o/

[walk0nwalls]

12:08 AM on 02/04/2009

Maybe they should put a disclaimer before the show credits.

[dkuz09]

10:34 AM on 02/04/2009

THIS is not a bad idea...

[remf]

11:50 PM on 02/03/2009

24 is not a Documentar­y

[dkuz09]

10:29 AM on 02/04/2009

hmmm.....p­robably not a bad idea...

[dkuz09]

10:34 AM on 02/04/2009

totally wrong comment I meant to leave a reply on.....alt­hough a documentar­y still wouldn't be a bad idea....

[OneAngryDwarf]

11:48 PM on 02/03/2009

Quick someone call the Freeptards and the Red Staters and let the know that 24 is "just a TV show."

Those dolts seem to think that this show represents some sort of moral compass that they can use to justify their outdated policies. TV rots your brain and obviously the right has been watching all day and night.

[reggie1298]

12:15 AM on 02/04/2009

As neither a Republican nor a red -stater I resent your broad brush.

I hope you have no children.

[lvogt]

11:42 PM on 02/03/2009

It would be nice if the writers didn't feed the notion that torture works with such glee.

[reggie1298]

12:17 AM on 02/04/2009

Where is the torture in this season's episodes?

[Tankmaster]

11:13 PM on 02/03/2009

Stop talking smack about Jack - or I'll send him over to your house!