What is the meaning of the elevator scene in Zero Dark Thirty?

What is the meaning of the elevator scene in Zero Dark Thirty? - Woods Covered With Snow

The CIA Director enters an elevator with someone and asks about Jessica Chastain's character.

The assistant claims she is really smart, to which the Director responds with, "We're all smart".

What is the significance of this sequence?



Best Answer

The point is that it's not about being smart..

It's about knowing what you are talking about and and having the guts to hold a position.

We see, in the scene prior to the elevator sequence, that the other CIA officials are all hedging their bets about the location of Bin Laden, Chastain's character is the only one who will commit to being certain.

This is why, even though, all of them are smart... he discounts that as being the deciding factor. Being knowledgeable, and committed to an opinion, even an internally unpopular one, carries more weight with him

Which is why, in the very next scene, the Director talks to Chastain's character to weigh her up for himself.

He's convinced, not only by her certainty but by the fact that the only thing she's done for the CIA in her 12 years...is hunt Bin Laden.




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What is the meaning behind Zero Dark Thirty?

The title Zero Dark Thirty was officially confirmed at the end of the film's teaser trailer. Bigelow has explained that "it's a military term for 30 minutes after midnight, and it refers also to the darkness and secrecy that cloaked the entire decade-long mission."

Why did Maya cry at the end of Zero Dark Thirty?

Speaking shortly before the film's New York City release, director Kathryn Bigelow answered that question: Maya cries because bin Laden's death is not an uncomplicated victory, since it leaves us with the national and global question of \u201cNow what?\u201d And, likewise, after that decade devoted solely to the hunt, Maya ...

Is there any truth to Zero Dark Thirty?

More on that later. For the uninitiated, Zero Dark Thirty is a fictionalised account of the decade-long hunt for former Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden was shot to death during the much-talked-about night raid of his compound in Pakistan on May 2, 2011.

Who is the girl in Zero Dark Thirty based on?

Alfreda Frances Bikowsky (born 1965) is a Central Intelligence Agency officer who has headed the Bin Laden Issue Station and the Global Jihad unit....Alfreda Frances Bikowsky.Alfreda Frances Bikowsky USABorn1965 (age 56\u201357)NationalityAmericanOccupationIntelligence officerSpouse(s)Michael Scheuer \u200b ( m. 2014)\u200b



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