Zero Dark Thirty: Masculinity, Militarism and One Woman’s Hunt For The Father of Al-Qaeda.
Katherine Bigelow’s 2012 epic Zero Dark Thirty invites its audience into a war bunker that immerses us in the decade long hunt for Osama bin Laden. In the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, bin Laden was reasonably considered the most wanted man in the world, and the CIA were determined to find him by any means necessary. Bigelow is no stranger to depicting the War on Terror, as she had previously gained critical acclaim for her 2008 Iraq war drama The Hurt Locker. However, this film provides a unique perspective through the female agent Maya (played by Jessica Chastain) as she struggles her way through the CIA’s hypermasculine bureaucracy in Pakistan. The fiery haired heroine ultimately provides the key to capturing and assassinating Osama bin Laden through her determination to chase a lead those around her are convinced is a dead end.
Global Gender: Unpacking US – Middle Eastern Relations
There is no doubt that Bigelow is successful in portraying the masculine militaristic superiority complex of the US during the War on Terror. Zero Dark Thirty realistically depicts the mass scale of US territorial involvement in the middle east, taking us on a tour through various base camps and black sites. Cynthia Weber wrote in 2002 that Al-Qaeda presented the US with a peculiar enemy that had more to do with morality than traditional wars over territory. The US maintained an image of moral superiority as a global militaristic and capitalist superpower. Islamic terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda understood their success would come from altering practices of traditional interstate conflict that seeks to emasculate the other enemy through invasion. Instead, Al-Qaeda was able to utilise the global market system that the US had created and use it against them, characterising themselves through masculine militarism and feminine tactics of manipulation. Zero Dark Thirty gives us a glimpse into these tactics during an interrogation with detainee suspect Ammar. Ammar’s link to the terrorist group is focused on a paper trail connecting him to money used to carry out attacks on 9/11. Bigelow effectively contrasts these financial communications with tragic bombings in London happening parallel to Ammar’s questioning. It becomes clear early on in the film that the US are under increasing amounts of pressure to prevent further attacks from happening. This plays into the notion of the US as a fatherly figure to the west, acting as its macho masculine protector against a feminised Europe.
The Strong Female Lead
So, where does our heroine fit? Maya is crowded by her male colleagues throughout the film who consistently underestimate her ability to enter the fraternity of the bin Laden account. Maya is in a constant state of isolation, she stands out amongst the other agents but is forced into the background when presenting her intelligence to higher ups. Lauren Sandler wrote of her character’s portrayal as a lone wolf that serves to highlight her exceptionalism as a “female mole in a boys club”. Accounts from veteran CIA officers reinforce the atmosphere of the organisation as an unforgiving place for women. Glenn Carle recounted a time where female agents had to be the toughest and hardest working in order to survive, and the rest were seen as sex objects. Bigelow illustrates this fact through the interactions between Maya and her male colleagues. Interrogator and team leader Dan (Jason Clarke) initially infantizes Maya and will often interject or speak for her in the presence of superiors. Similarly, the director of the operation Jospeh Bradley (Kyle Chandler) undermines her intelligence as legitimate, later becoming frustrated with her when she won’t “fall in line”, akin to putting her in her place.
The constant battle between Maya and men working the operation coincides with the development of her character arc. Her self-determination to incept bin Laden’s closest courier often goes against the mission of ‘protecting the homeland’. The men in the operation are preoccupied by the need to protect the US and Europe from more attacks by Al-Qaeda by destroying the group’s leaders. The idea of protection is felt so strongly by the men around her as it links deeply to principles of traditional chauvinistic masculinity. Male agents feel the attacks against western civilians as a personal responsibility, depicted in various scenes. In particular, the scene in which the bin Laden Unit’s personnel (80% male) are gathered in a boardroom to be mercilessly criticised by their superior George (Mark Strong). In this scene George demands that unit bring him “people to kill” before more of “our people” die from suicide bombings. It is apparent that the fundamental traits of masculinity through the use of violence are at play within George at this moment- he feels himself and his unit are failing to serve the purpose that men should, in turn emasculating him. Despite the pressure, Maya rejects the primordial expectations to protect as she understands the only way that the unit will be successful is to get to bin Laden as soon as possible. Encountering the masculine fragility of her male superiors leads Maya to be more assertive in the operation. We see her taking charge of following leads and participating in interrogations alone. Eventually, her persistence gains her the autonomy that’s she needs from the male bureaucracy to complete her objective. Bigelow makes a statement that is reflective in her own career as a film maker, being the only woman to win an Oscar for Best Director. The obstacles that she has had to get over at the hands of men in industry echoes expectations that require women to be assertive in the workplace in order to have autonomy over their projects.
Ideological Collisions
Themes of exceptionalism in Maya’s character are coupled with her position as an empowered, white, sexually liberated woman embodying the culture and attitudes of the west. Not much is revealed about Maya apart from the fact that she is single and does not seem to have much of social life, signifying her as entirely independent. This leads Maya to be interpreted as a personification of the US during the war on terror. The western values that promote progressive attitudes, secularism and a humanistic approach to morality are drastically contrasted with bin Laden. Al-Qaeda adopt the regressive principles of Islamic fundamentalism perceived by the west to be a sexually perverse subordination of women, confining them to a life of domesticity and childbearing. Concepts of western retaliation through Maya peaks when her female cooperative Jessica is killed by a bomb during a meeting with a high-profile Al-Qaeda informant. It is later revealed that Jessica was a “mother of three” transforming the narrative of her characters death to be a personal symbol of the destruction of the American mother. Maya’s vengefulness carries her through, increasing her obsession with tracking down bin Laden and continuing the work on behalf of herself and Jessica. The assassination of bin Laden is symbolic of the victory between these binaries of the west and Al-Qaeda; the west had won the morality war.
Final Thoughts
Zero Dark Thirty is not devoid of criticism for its depiction of gender in the narrative of international security. Critics of the film point to Bigelow’s use of torture as an integral part of capturing bin Laden to be a false inflation of its significance. Others, suggest the film’s focus on a female lead supresses the horror of CIA black sites, making the use of torture less impactful, portrayed more as a necessary evil to get Maya what she needs. However, though these criticisms make a valid point on the gendered role of modern American imperialism, the film stands as a representation of the experiences of women working in international security. Too often, the vital role of women is rendered invisible or diluted by a fraternal male culture that occupies the space. The agent that Maya’s character is based on was revered as ‘prickly’ and unapologetically vocalised the importance of her role in the operation. After the unit received accolades for their work, the agent was passed for a promotion, a move that confused many in the organisation given her significant role in its success. Bigelow’s portrayal of Maya and her navigation through the frustrating and demeaning hierarchy of the US security forces illustrates the expectation of women in such a masculine field- her success in the final moments are overshadowed by a cold emptiness and isolation. It seems to the audience that Maya, alone in that plane, is not only left to reflect on the sacrifices and loss that she has suffered over a decade long search but also her descent back into obscurity to quietly await her next posting.
