TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE (2007)
1. What is the title of the film, what (brief summary) is it about (subject, topic)?
The title of the film is Taxi to the dark side. The documentary film explains how an Afghanistan taxi driver by the name Dilawar was killed after undergoing server torture by the American soldiers. it was discovered that he was who was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time held at extrajudicial detention within Parwan Detention Facility.
2. Why did you choose this documentary to view? What did you expect to learn or experience from this film?
This documentary explains how soldiers are inhuman, and at times take advantage of their powers to humiliate the vulnerable citizen. I expected to see Americans interrogate the Afghanistan as any other suspect without being stereotypical.
3. What was the central point of this film? That is, what was the overall focus, goal or mission of the filmmaker? Think of it like an essay: What was the thesis statement?
The focus of this film was to access the USA’s policy on interrogation and the kind of torture that one can get when necessary. Most American soldiers are stereotypical when it comes to people of Asian race. Most people from Asian continent are perceived as terrorists. Therefore, they make sure they torture them seriously to get information they need. In addition, the film maker wanted to address the issue of stereotyping and to make people understand how bad it may be.
4. How did the filmmaker support that central point? Topics? Facts? Stats? Interviews? Comparisons? Describe them; don””?t just list them.
The filmmaker wanted to address the issue of torture and interrogation by soldiers. During Bush administration, the prisoners usually faced extreme torture that was against the USA policy on torture and interrogation. This has been evidenced in the film where the taxi driver was torture to death.
5. How did this film compare to your expectations? What, if anything, did you learn from it, intellectually or emotionally? How did it impact you? That is, did it inspire you or change your perspective in any way?
The film gave a bad picture of the USA soldiers especially the CIA and the interrogating team. Some take issues personally or stereotypically. The interrogation given to the prisoners may be so severe that may make someone to do anything as long as they stop the torture. This film should help the government understand how things happen in prisoners under their nose. Therefore, they should punish those who torture prisoners against the USA policies.
6. Describe at least five examples in the film in which the filmmaker effectively used some of the techniques listed below by making the scene easier to follow or understand, drive home a point, enhance the drama/emotion/impact, keep your attention.
Archieval footage shown in the film to depict torture include, ceiling handcuffing and standing for long periods while chained (Lesage 19).
The cutaway shots to exemplify the speaker’s point were in Bagram prison where harsh conditions were used for interrogation and torture (Lesage 20).
Sounds used to enhance the scene-included situations like the call of ALLAH by the Taxi driver. His cries amused the soldiers and they hit him more to hear him cry more.
Other texts and graphics used include harsh words by the people who were torturing
Editing techniques of the film involved dark images especially when in a torture room.
Work Cited
Lesage, Julia 2009, Torture Documentaries Web. 06 Mar. 2013.
<http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/jc51.2009/TortureDocumentaries/text.html>
