“ZDT” gets the CIA wrong

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 20:26:00 +0000

When Pacific Standard called me to ask if I would write about "Zero Dark Thirty," I still had not decided whether I wanted to see it. I was leaning toward no. People who work in intelligence don’t generally see movies about it. You can enjoy them only once you’ve been out of the game for a while, and then only if you don’t take it too seriously. I watch "Homeland." It’s fun because it’s a fantasy.

"Zero Dark Thirty" occupied an odd space. It’s not ridiculous enough to allow complete suspension of disbelief. I get that Hollywood needs to sell tickets, but it’s not accurate enough to resonate with my experiences as a CIA analyst and later, a targeting officer in the clandestine service.

Salon.com > Nada Bakos

“ZDT” gets the CIA wrong