They’re flying Robots

Drone warfare — and the knotty political and moral issues that accompany it — has increasingly piqued the interest of filmmakers, TV writers and playwrights. Last month, “The Good Wife” returned to the topic, devoting a large chunk of an episode to a debate over the legality of adding an ISIS recruiter who is an American citizen to the kill list. And “National Bird,” a documentary about drone program whistle-blowers by Sonia Kennebeck, will play at the Tribeca Film Festival next month.

It’s not hard to understand why drones make for compelling fare.

“They’re flying robots,” said Arthur Holland Michel, co-founder of the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College. “They’re used by spies acting on orders that come directly from the president. They’re operated by former jet pilots living in Las Vegas, who feel the psychological toll of what they’re doing even though they’re not in danger. And they rain missiles called Hellfire on Al Qaeda, the Taliban and also, every so often, women, children and other civilians. How could the public not be fascinated and terrified by drones?”
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/13/movies/helen-mirren-eye-in-the-sky-and-national-bird-train-sights-on-warfare-by-remote-control.html?ref=topics