Hollywood and Terrorism

Stories of arch terrorists, or suspected terrorists being falsely imprisoned, have become recent fodder for Hollywood. There’s the 2007 film “Rendition,” which tells the story of an extraordinary rendition.

There was also the larger story of terrorism and upheaval in the Mid-East told in movies like “The Kingdom.” Many of the stories told over the past decade have mostly been tales of good vs. evil. But that’s changing, at least somewhat.

Marco Werman speaks with Kamran Pasha, the Hollywood writer and producer, who helped create the series “Sleeper Cell” in 2005, about an FBI agent assigned to infiltrate a terrorist sleeper cell in Los Angeles.

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Marco Werman: The CIA has refused reporters’ requests to comment on the case of Khaled el-Masri. Stories like el-Masri’s have become fodder for Hollywood. Many of the stories told over the past decade have mostly been tales of good versus evil. But that’s changing at least somewhat, according to Kamran Pasha. He’s a Hollywood writer and producer who helped create the series Sleeper Cell in 2005, about an FBI agent assigned to infiltrate a terrorist sleeper cell in Los Angeles. So Kamran, you’re in Hollywood so you know this is going to be a pretty big weekend for the geo-political thriller. There’s a finale on TV Sunday of Homeland, that popular show that focuses on terrorists infiltrating the US. Zero Dark Thirty hits theatres tomorrow. Do you think American filmmakers and producers these days are tackling terrorism and terrorists in a way that’s more nuanced than what we saw in the few years after 9/11?

Kamran Pasha: Absolutely. I mean, what we witnessed initially after 9/11 was a very understandable gung-ho, good versus evil battle, because we’d just been attacked in this horrific fashion, and a lot of people weren’t necessarily interested in the United States to hear whatever the point of view of the terrorists was. I mean, we’re still, on shows like Homeland, it is still the American agents are the heroes, the terrorists are not the heroes of the show. And yet at the same time, we’re getting to understand the human journey that brought a lot of these villainous characters on these shows to where they are and their point of view, which is a major transformation from how Hollywood has approached this.

Werman: Now, in the last 48 hours, in the lead-up to Kathryn Bigelow’s new film Zero Dark Thirty, which opens tomorrow, there’s been a huge debate about torture. Zero Dark Thirty is being criticized, in much the same way the series 24 was, for suggesting that torture is an effective way to gather intelligence. Do you think the movie is saying, though, that torture works?

Pasha: From what I read about it and my understanding of it, is that it’s actually, the entire movie is a more sophisticated view of the overall search for Bin Laden than I think we’ve gotten in the media. And it has, my understanding is that it has, a much more ambiguous feeling as to the morality of all the things that are done here.

Werman: How much does Hollywood have an obligation to present a realistic picture of things like this?

Pasha: Well, we should remember that Hollywood first and foremost is a business, where we’re creating entertainment content for people to consume and enjoy. But at the same time, we do have, I believe, a purpose and an obligation to present information accurately, especially about major world events and conflicts that are happening. You know, partly it’s just very good filmmaking, very good storytelling. You want to understand what is motivating your adversary and you want to see the complications that arise from moral choices that heroes are making, so I think that from a storytelling point of view we have an obligation and yes, on a personal moral level I think we have an obligation, to at least be as accurate as possible, purely because I think Americans need to understand it to make good policy decisions. It doesn’t mean they have to change their opinions about what their long-term political agenda is. It does mean they have to think about the outcomes of their actions. I think we do have an obligation to show that point of view so that the viewer can make a judgment.

Werman: Kamran, you’re one of the few Muslim screenwriters in Hollywood. What about your own work? What jobs will you take and not take?

Pasha: Well, you know, as a Muslim, as a practicing Muslim in Hollywood, there’s not a lot of us. I’ve been faced with this from the very beginning of my career. On that show Sleeper Cell, I had, there were troubling moments, and I talked about it with the creators of the show, where even as a devout Muslim I have to represent the point of view of people who I think are falsely representing Islam, the terrorists and al-Qaeda, and I have to present it authentically. And it’s very difficult for me sometimes, when I’m writing and I’m seeing how they’re twisting the holy Quran and all these scriptures that mean something to me as a Muslim. But I have to present that point of view because I know that the character thinks that way. I won’t work on a project where I believe the agenda is purely to present some kind of propaganda.

Werman: Do you find that you often have to kind of turn away projects because you don’t agree with what they’re trying to portray?

Pasha: No, not really. I mean, I think because we’re getting to this place of this nuance that we’re talking about here. And often I am approached exactly for that reason, is that you’re having producers and studios that want to present a more sophisticated world view about what’s happening in the Muslim world and this war on terror, and so they’ll turn to me and say, okay, give us an insight on this.

Werman: Hollywood screenwriter Kamran Pasha there. He helped create the series Sleeper Cell in 2005, about an FBI agent assigned to infiltrate a terrorist network in LA.

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