Mendte: “Zero Dark Thirty” And Politics

NEW YORK, NY. (KPLR) – The movie “Zero Dark Thirty” about the search for Osama bin laden got shut out last night.  Larry Mendte questions if politics played a role.

Just three months ago, “Zero Dark Thirty”, the movie that details the 10 year manhunt for Osama bin laden, was an Oscar front runner.

On the web site rotten tomatoes, that collects all of the reviews from critics across the country; it got a positive reaction from 94 percent.

And because it was directed by Katherine Bigelow, who’s last movie the hurt locker won her both best movie and best director, well “Zero Dark Thirty” was beginning to feel like a lock.

But then the movie became infested by the same disease that is strangling so many things in America nowadays, politics.

Senators Diane Feinstein, Carl Levin and John McCain objected to the movie`s suggestion that waterboarding an al Qaeda prisoner helped the United States get bin laden.

Waterboarding is a controversial method of interrogation where water is poured over the face causing a person to panic and think they may drown.

Katherine Bigelow was given unprecedented access to intelligence documents and personnel and defends the film as being honest.

She got so much inside information that congress wants to investigate her.

Bigelow was shockingly snubbed by the academy awards for best director and although “Zero Dark Thirty”, did get a nomination it has no chance.

Ironically Bigelow and her movie about taking out Osama bin laden was taken out in a political hit.

And Hollywood is once again exposed as intellectually dishonest for putting ideology over honesty.

“Zero Dark Thirty” is a wonderful movie that courageously made us face some hard truths.  It is the most important film of the year whether Hollywood or Washington like it or not.