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March 30, 2003
Some interesting stuff on this
Some interesting stuff on this week's On the Media on NPR: Lengthy segment discussing how our show, 24, has been mirroring reality this season. Of particular interest to the OTM folks: how one episode slipped in a reference to the interrogators at Gu*ntanamo. It was the show's first explicit acknowledgement of 9/11 (Amy can correct me if I'm wrong). [scroll down to "Life Imitates Art" section.]
Another segment on the show discusses the "brand-naming" of military operations, such as "Operation: Desert Storm" and the terrible "Operation: Ir*qi Freedom". When I first heard "Ir*qi Freedom", its obviousness made me cringe. Now, however, I realize that it is just yet another example of how our prez absolutely lacks any subtlety whatsoever, and always makes explicit and stupid those things that used to be implicit and smart. It seems the thought process must have gone, "The American people won't understand/buy the stated goal of this war unless we actually name the operation after that goal." When Desert Storm occurred, I read an article that said that operational names came from a two-column list: the first column was used for the first word, and the second column for the second word, so there was a modicum of artfulness involved in choosing two words that went together well and suggested the goal of the operation. Everyone loved "Desert Storm", everyone hates "Ir*qi Freedom". (See "Wordsmiths of War" on the OTM page.)
Relatedly, here's a long list of recent military operations (and their names) from FAS.org, lots of which I had never heard of.
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posted by adm at 9:32 PM | #
