Military Orientalism at the Cineplex: A Postcolonial Reading of Zero Dark Thirty

Abstract

This essay provides readers with a postcolonial critique of the movie Zero Dark Thirty (ZD30). It uses some of the theoretical insights of critics who are interested in military orientalism to explain how the entire movie provides American audiences and other Western viewers with a “first draft” of the history of CIA involvement in the pursuit of Osama bin Laden. Although Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal have argued that their movie is an apolitical piece of art that resembles “journalism” in its conveyance of “truth,” it actually serves as vehicle for American exceptionalism and allows audiences to ignore what other international communities have said about the legality of the raid on Abbottabad.

Keywords:

• Kathryn Bigelow
• Military Orientalism
• Postcolonial
• Zero Dark Thirty
• bin Laden raid

Acknowledgements

The author would like to dedicate this essay to Professor Mary Strine, a colleague who has constantly supported his research efforts on film as we both pursued a “life of the mind.” Professor Strine has a very different take on ZD30, and Bigelow's intentions, but the author has nevertheless profited from our conversations about the content and aesthetics of Bigelow's work. The author would also like to thank Sean Lawson for calling his attention to Porter's work on military orientalism.

Notes

[1] For readers interested in other discussions of the nexus that exists between Hollywood films and specific CIA representations, see Jenkins (2009).

[2] See the work of some West Point analysts who contextualized the data from the raid as evidence that at the time of his death bin Laden was a weak, delusional, and impotent leader who had distanced himself from core Al Qaeda operatives (see Lahoud et al., 2012).