Guantanamo: Blacked Out Bay

Guantanamo: Blacked Out Bay

2014, Politics  -   19 Comments
7.08
12345678910
Ratings: 7.08/10 from 76 users.

Vice News reporter Gianna Toboni is granted a rare tour of the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center (GTMO) in Cuba, offering a look inside the most notorious prison in the world. Intended to home the greatest active terrorist threats, it is instead known for imprisoning foreigners at random and subjecting them to dehumanizing conditions.

Toboni and crew are escorted to the prison for an official media tour as the rules for filming are explained. Certain elements, such as names, faces, and certain rooms, must be obscured or avoided to prevent information about the prison from leaking. Toboni first meets with the prison's Cultural Advisor, who is surprisingly open about the frighteningly lax nature of admission to GTMO. "Anyone can wind up here," he states.

The tour begins at Camp X-Ray, which was home to the first twenty detainees to ever enter the prison. The outdoor cells exposed inmates to extreme heat and sun, and provided only funneled pipes as makeshift latrines. Ushered through various cell blocks, we are then shown the force-feeding area where those on hunger strike are given nutrients against their will. Although the regulations at Guantanamo have relaxed enough to allow a media tour, there is still strict oversight by prison officials. When interview questions diverge too far from the topic of the cell blocks themselves the tour is shut down and the film crew asked to leave.

Finding herself faced with more questions than answers, Toboni seeks out a former detainee as well as a former guard in order to obtain personal perspectives on life at GTMO. Mustafa Ait Idir agrees to share his story, detailing his experience when, despite being acquitted of the charges against him, he was transferred to Guantanamo anyway. Idir recounts his first days of detention, forced to lie naked on cement ground and endure other humiliations. Terry Holdbrooks tells of his transition from prison guard to anti-GTMO activist after bearing witness to the violent and demeaning tactics used against prisoners. Holdbrooks' mission since leaving his post is to see the center closed for good.

Guantanamo: Blacked Out Bay addresses a heavy topic with an air of humor while maintaining a tone of respect for those working in the interest of national security as well as those wrongly imprisoned who have become collateral damage in the war on terror. Although promises have been made to close the center, viewers are left wondering if there will ever be an end date in sight.

More great documentaries

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

19 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Mars
Mars
5 years ago

The Host, shes so combative, and dismissive. "real facts" its a prison, most of them are really bad guys and wasting oxygen.
She should bring that anti US attitude she carries, and embed herself with the Deach

flybow
flybow
7 years ago

terry bell. isis, isil whatever we call them now, are the creation of the pentagon and the cia.

whitepowerfront
whitepowerfront
8 years ago

The all bad not good same like the Chinese now we need to put Chinese to Guantanamo , the Chinese are our biggest enemy .

Yosemite Sam
Yosemite Sam
9 years ago

Narrator Ms. Gianna Toboni once again has confirmed ... lock up is a bitch.

tylerrumble
tylerrumble
9 years ago

Listen to this genius interview ! 7:08 She heard of horrible conditions with Guards coming into a cell and aggressively beating someone. Hahahahaha...Yes ready for CNN she is. Or better yet fox news. Or maybe just a non aggressive beating.

F. Thorne
F. Thorne
9 years ago

This is in an important topic & it is disappointing that it was done by this apparently ditzy film maker, I thought it was horrible! the questions that she asked were 7th grade level, meaning they were just leading, looking for fault, it's good to probe (but that's not what she did) but be intelligent at least! it's a detention facility! of course some books are banned in the library - duh - you're reaching for anything 'dramatic'. That's one example, practically the whole thing was like this. Human rights concerns me, unfortunately I had to turn this off half way through. I wish a professional had handled this rather than this pathetically amateur dalliance.

User_1
User_1
9 years ago

Thanks again for posting this doc VICE! Seems like I'm always thanking you guys for doing a great doc. Just wish it was longer! This one is really weird with timing. I just so happened to be wondering the other day if you guys are going to do a doc on Gitmo and BAM! I'm really wanting now to hear more from Terry Holdbrooks. I'm in LA and I'm hoping he hasn't done anything here yet.

After 9/11 I'm so ashamed at how our country has manifested itself. We did have the whole world behind us right after 9/11. We slowly lost EVERYONE'S support. Really! Who's left supporting us? The UK? I guess................

Jake Harris
Jake Harris
9 years ago

The detainees in Guantanamo are no different than were the detainees in the Hanoi Hilton.