Jack Bauer is America and So Can You

In class we discussed Gitlin's definition of hegemony and the influence it had/has on TV programming. One thing I found very interesting was how popular action shows have always been and that the validation of state power seems to be an underlying theme of many of these shows. Gitlin offers the example of the Six Million Dollar Man reinforcing the "anti-red" ideology. I can see similar themes that promote state power, besides the obvious Law and Orders or other crime dramas, especially shows that came out after September 11th and following "The War on Terror."

24 is quite obvious in it's validation of several points of US military actions tied to terrorism. The main premise for the show, that first aired in 2001, is that main character Jack Bauer works for the Counter Terrorist Unit. After the official proclamation of the "War on Terror", the word "terrorist" obviously became a huge buzz word holding much more meaning, weight, and connotation to the US audience than ever before. In this sense 24 validated the need for the US to be concerned specifically with "terrorism" and not any country in particular or in general. Specifically it validated the "War on Terror"--this term, many have argued, is a government manipulation/scare tactic used to generalize all "others" who may be in opposition to the US and also used as a preemptive war to justify the war in Iraq.

The show also depicts that torture is crucial to fighting terrorism. This theme in the show became more prominent after reports leaked that torture was being used by the US military on Iraqi prisoners. I seem to recall a controversial episode of Jack using really gruesome torture techniques some time after the photos from Abu Ghraib were released.

I think it's obvious that 24 and other shows have based most or some parts of their scripts around US military action since September 11th. I'm wondering how much this has to do with pure interest in exploring/exploiting this topic or if it does stem from some need for Americans to feel validation for our actions.