Military Orientalism at the Cineplex: A Postcolonial Reading ofZero 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.

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