Citizenship In The Film 'Bridge Of Spies'

Throughout the movie “Bridge of Spies”, every character shows or does not show citizenship in various ways. Citizenship is an aspect of NBHS’s CIRCLE expectations, which are six traits that come together to create a better person. Citizenship is being an informed, responsible, and caring member of your community. Three characters that showed citizenship were Gary Powers, Ivan Schischkin, and Judge Byers. First, Gary Powers was a U.S pilot who was selected to fly the U-2 stealth plane over the U.S.S.R to take pictures, knowing he was risking his life. Then, Schischkin claimed to be from the Soviet embassy, but had lied,as he was from the KGB, trying to negotiate a different deal than what Donovan had agreed to. Finally, Judge Byers was supposed to be an unbiased man who

makes decisions based on the evidence and the trial. However, in Bridge of Spies, it is clear that he does not base his decision on the evidence and the defenses, but his own prejudices. These three characters come together to embody both what citizenship is, and what it is not in a very good way.
The U.S army picked a very select few people to fly a top secret mission. Of the small group of pilots chosen to be involved, was Francis Gary Powers. He was one of the few selected to fly the U.S’s newest top secret spy plane, the U-2. He was top fly at 70,00 feet above the U.S.S.R to take pictures of suspected Soviet Nuclear sites. Before the mission, Powers and the other pilots were told the dangers of the mission, as well as the service they would be doing their country. Powers and the other pilots were all in a room being briefed on the mission. In the briefing it was explained to them what to do if shot down. The first thing they were told to do was flip the switch in the cockpit labeled “destruct”. This would set off the 2 pounds of explosives packed around the cockpit, destroying any valuable top secret technology within it, as well as killing the pilot. However, if they were unable to do so, they were given something called “the dollar”. This was poison needle designed to quickly kill the pilot so that they couldn't be captured and interrogated by the Soviets. However, despite the very real possibility of dying, Powers decides that he wants to do it anyway. He is being an outstanding citizen for his country, and showing great citizenship. Powers puts the good of his country before his own life, only because he truly believes in his cause and is loyal to his country.
Secondly, Ivan Schischkin claimed to be a secretary of the Soviet embassy. This, however, turned out to be false, as he was a member of the KGB, a secret police in the Soviet Union. He did not show citizenship by lying to Donovan about his ranking. Donovan and Schischkin the proceeded to discuss how to craft a plan in which Soviet Union and the United States could exchange Gary Francis Powers for Rudolf Abel. Once again we see Shiskin not show citizenship by trying to trick Donovan into getting the United States to release Abel for nothing in exchange. Although Schischkin was persistent with trying to make Donovan agree to the plan, Jim Donovan did not budge. The one time that Mr. Schischkin did show citizenship is when he finally came to an agreement with Donovan. They agreed to make the exchange of Powers and Pryor for Abel.
Finally, in one scene of the movie, Jim Donovan and Judge Byers have an intense conversation regarding the trial of Rudolf Abel. In this conversation, Judge Byers does not treat Jim Donovan with respect. His responses to him are rude and biased, as he claims that Abel is a Russian spy before the trial happens, and tells Jim that he will be convicted whether Jim gets three weeks to prepare or six. This conversation represents the rising tensions between Communism and Democracy, and the lack of citizenship from both sides is apparent. Judge Byers does not do what is fair. By judging Abel before he has a fair trial, he is violating the Constitution. Everyone must be given a fair trial, and that includes alleged spies. To show citizenship in a situation like this, Judge Byers should have given Abel the benefit of the doubt and listened to the evidence presented before him and Abel’s defense, rather than making an assumption about him before hand like many Americans did.
Citizenship is a very commonly shown trait not only by the characters of the movie, but also in everyday people.

It is about showing basic kindness to people and doing your duty as a citizen, and making informed, responsible decisions. Of the three characters Powers, Schischkin, and Byers, only one of them showed citizenship. Powers showed great citizenship by putting his life in danger to do what he could to help keep america safe. However, Schischkin and Byers did exactly the opposite. When Schischkin lied to Donovan to try and get him to negotiate a deal that would essentially embarrass the U.S., he was neglecting to take into account the consequences his actions would have on Donovan, and instead hid behind his veil of lies. Also, Byers did not show citizenship when he was being biased towards Abel, allowing prejudice to persuade him, and not giving Donovan time to prepare so that justice could be rightly served. In everyday life, citizenship is a very important characteristic to possess. When our president makes decisions, he is affecting 319 million people, and if he does not make informed and responsible choices, the consequences could be much worse than when Byers and Schischkin did

not.