Did reality TV finally come to Iraq? Do you think the rise of popular American shows like
NBC’s “Fear Factor” and CBS’s “Survivor” have anything to do with the torture and abuse of
Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere? Those top-rated “entertainments” have prized
physical degradation, along with psychological humiliation and plain old human sleaze (NBC’s
“The Apprentice,” anyone?).
Were prisoners ever asked to eat a piece of horse rectum, per “Fear Factor”? Were their
relatives ever asked to eat tarantula spiders or juicy coconut palm worms, per “Survivor”? Did
anybody torture prisoners, per Britain’s “Drop the Celebrity,” which kicks contestants off the
show by dumping them from an airplane? (Hmmm, “Drop the Celebrity” may have taken its m.o.
from Vietnam-era interrogations.)
Anyway, was there an influence? An infection? Did the U.S. military get any sense of
permission, if not the actual “pranks,” from our TV pop culture? Just asking.
