Why torture scenes have gone mainstream

CBC Arts | Film: "Torture has become a recurring motif in our media landscape. From the graphic accounts of the Rwandan genocide to the beheading of American reporter Daniel Pearl to the scandalous photos from Abu Ghraib, real-world violence has become, if not more widespread, then certainly more vivid. (The internet, where many of these images are found, has had a big hand in this.) With little fanfare and even less shame, torture has crept into pop culture. "