Standard Operating Procedure Movie Review
Critically-acclaimed documentary maker Errol Morris continues to question the American military complex in Standard Operating Procedure, his follow up to 2004's Best Feature Documentary Oscar-winner The Fog of War. This time Morris turns his attention to the now infamous pictures taken by American soldiers of the 372nd Military Police Company at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
You know the pics, prisoners stacked in a naked triangle with smiling US soldiers giving the thumbs up, a man stood on a chair with a bag on his head seemingly wired up in a shower recess, a pummeled corpse again with a soldier giving the thumbs up. Not the kind for a polite slide night at Mum's.
After being leaked, mainly through the internet and finally to the press, the Abu Grahib pictures sent shockwaves throughout the world due to their humiliating and abusive nature. Human rights, what human rights? These here are prisoners my son and this is WAR. And of course (allegedly) all is fair in war (and something else).
Morris attempts to get the stories behind the pictures by interviewing the perpetrators as well as putting the most obvious question 'Why the hell would anyone do such a thing?' And if you thought the horror of the pictures was bad enough, wait until you get an insight into some of the justifications behind them. At times the answers to Morris's questions are chillingly laughable, at others the stock standard 'I was just carrying out orders' (now where have we heard that before?). One officer purports to have taken pictures to 'let people know what was going on' and yet she was the one thumbs aloft next to the abovementioned corpse. Yes, I believe you, millions wouldn't ...
Allegedly, much of what you and I would see in these pictures as torture and abuse are actually, as the title says, 'Standard Operating Procedure' (SOP). In the military these are ways and means of 'breaking down' prisoners to gather information. You will be shocked to discover what actually qualifies as SOP as opposed to blatant abuse.
It is true that most of us who have never encountered military life or ever been close to conflict have no idea how the pressure of such a situation would blur the lines between right and wrong and Morris does not conveniently gloss over that. What he does offer is a look at the major players in this hideous drama and a very scary insight into what, in war, is deemed acceptable behavior. It will give you the creeps, but then again war should do that shouldn't it?
By Kylie McShane (Contributor) http://www.planeturban.com.au/movie_reviews
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/
Added: July 4, 2008
In Pictures: Eight Tools That Let You Make Anything - Forbes
Forbes In Pictures : Eight Tools That Let You Make Anything Forbes, NY - Forget soldering irons. Today's do-it-yourself tools have taken leaps ahead in precision and robotics, making the task of building less about what you can ...Reading The Pictures: That Old Bill Clinton - Huffington Post
Calgary CTV Reading The Pictures : That Old Bill Clinton Huffington Post, NY - I know that it is fashionable among the cognoscenti to hate Bill Clinton, it has been since he came on the scene. But rank and file Democrats still love him ... Video: Dems Choose Obama in Thunderous Acclamation Hillary plays part, but Barack needs to cement mindsIn pictures: Bihar floods - BBC News
BBC News In pictures : Bihar floods BBC News, UK - At least 55 people have died and some two million others have fled their homes after massive floods hit India's eastern state of Bihar, local officials say. ... Video: Raw Video: Massive Flooding in India Rescue workers rush to flood-hit northern India