An "Exquisite Filmic Haze": The Complicated Politics of Reportedness in Zero Dark Thirty

Abstract

ABSTRACT:Released in December 2012, Zero Dark Thirty, director Kathryn Bigelow's "reported film" about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, represented a crisis in the relationship between journalism and film. This article analyzes the ways in which Zero Dark Thirty insisted on its own inclusion in the intricate web of reporting about the events it represents. After first describing the complex dialogue this film engages in with news coverage at the time, the article then interrogates the formal decisions made in Zero Dark Thirty with regard to lighting, sound, set design, and more to create an impression of factual credibility and "reportedness."