This document provides a summary of the film "Zero Dark Thirty" which depicts the decade-long manhunt for Osama Bin Laden that culminated in his death in 2011. It discusses the controversy around the film's portrayal of torture and its focus on a single female CIA agent leading the hunt. Reviews were mixed, with government and military officials criticizing inaccuracies while the film was a financial success.

1. Fact or Fiction
Jeffrey Irvine

2. September 11th, 2001…

3. •September 11th, 2001 was a tragic day in the history of the United States. 2,977 people lost their lives in the heinous attack perpetrated by the terrorist group Al- Qaeda.
•Osama bin Laden was the obvious culprit in the attacks.
•The nation changed irreparably after this event, and a world-wide manhunt would ensue for the next 10 years.
September 11th, 2001

4. Most Wanted Man in History…

5. •President George W. Bush and a coalition of many other nations’ waged two wars over the next decade in an effort to root out the terrorist groups in control.
•But the capture or killing of bin Laden proved elusive for so long that it seemed as if he would never be found.
War on Terror

6. Never Ending Wars…

7. •May 1st, 2011, an elite team of Navy SEALS raided a compound in Pakistan that was housing bin Laden.
•It was after this that we learned as a nation that the most wanted man in US history had finally been taken down.
•This was arguably the biggest news story of the century so far.
•Naturally a film was in the works.
The Man-Hunt Continues

8. Zero Dark Thirty…

9. •“Zero Dark Thirty” chronicles the story of one woman’s decade long quest to capture or kill the known terrorist Osama bin Laden.
•The film, which was directed by Katheryn Bigelow, was released less than 2 years after Bin Laden’s death.
One Woman’s Quest

10. Maya – C.I.A. Analyst…

11. •This film was initially conceived as an open ended allusion to the unending war on terror.
•After the events of May 1st 2011, the filmmakers had to scramble to change the ending of their film in order to account for current events.
•A great deal of controversy surrounded the film upon its release on December 19th, 2012. Members of the studio and filmmaking team were called into question by Congress about the movie’s depiction of torture.
Controversy over Torture

12. Torture Controversy…

13. •The movie was filmed in a very engaging, almost documentary-like feel.
•There were an abundance of scenes that felt gritty and real, and the tension was palpable throughout.
•In addition to this level of tension, was a fantastic attention to detail on part of the filmmakers.
•The film was marketed as almost documentary-like by the amount of factual evidence present, naturally the public was going to assume most of it was true.
•Senator John McCain alluded to the fact that the use of torture was not as crucial to the eventual killing of bin Laden as the filmmakers would have you believe.
Attention to Detail

14. Depictions of Scope…

15. •Zero Dark Thirty would have you believe that this entire manhunt was perpetrated by one person, the Maya character.
•In actuality the entire operation required countless numbers of man-hours and personnel to complete.
•There were a number of reasons for this change, most of which stem from the fact that showing scenes of people filing paper work, and pouring over documents might not be very fun to watch.
One Woman Job

16. Action in Pakistan…

17. •The person responsible for shooting bin Laden has become referred to simply as Shooter by the press.
•He has discussed in depth his experiences during the mission as well as the authenticity of what was presented in the film.
•The films depiction of the raid was actually pretty well done according to the SEAL member.
•His biggest complaints were of the amount of time the actual raid took, to the amount of talking that the members used during the raid.
•This is impressive not only due to the technical requirements needed to film these scenes, but also the highly secretive manner in which the raid played out.
“Shooter”

18. The Raid…

19. •Despite the issues with factual errors, and the controversy surrounding the torture scenes depicted in the film, it still went on to become extremely successful.
•Whether it was successful in delivering its message or not is really up to who you ask.
•According to the films producer’s and the studio that developed the film it was extremely successful financially as well as critically.
•But there is a fairly large contingent of people involved in the Government and the military who have not had such a kind response to the film.
•Ultimately I believe this has only added to the allure of the film and the event that it is based off of.
Impact of the Film

20. The Director…