R. Affleck's Argo

912 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Impact of iranian revolution in iran

Early November of 1979, Iranian citizens protested outside of the United States Embassy in Tehran, Iran. Iran that year had gone through a political revolution. As a result, the dictator of Iran, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, was overthrown. The former Iranian leader was suffering from cancer so the United States then took him in to treat him, sparking outrage among the Iranian people. In response to the United State’s actions, protesters invaded the United States Embassy in Tehran, Iran. The protesters broke through the gate and held about seventy Embassy workers hostage. (Noormohammadi 2014) Argo, directed by Ben Affleck, told the story of the six hostages that escaped from the protestors and fled to the Canadian Embassy. To give the movie more thrill, he added scenes, used his creative touch, and his editing to add thrill to a historical event. These changes made Argo into a more exciting film. …show more content…

In the scene where Tony Mendez reached the hostages, Affleck began to stretch the truth of the rescue/;.. Affleck added a scene where the six hostages and Mendez had to go out and walk through the Iranian market to scout out the area for their film. An article by Bedard (2013) explains what historically happened: “The group of six never ventured into the Iranian bazaar as a dress rehearsal of their fake identities. In fact, Mark Lijek, one of the Americans exfiltrated from Iran said in an [interview] with W5’s Victor Malarek, ‘It would have been suicidal to go to the Bazaar at that point.’” (2013 para. 8). Although the market scene was not historically accurate, it added more drama and suspense to the movie. The mise-en-scene of the market was very tense. Large crowds filled the streets as all the Iranian people passed by the disguised Americans. Affleck added this scene to add conflict to the movie, showing the danger of the rescue

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Taken Hostage By David Farber

    714 Words  | 2 Pages

    This completely changed the perception of the United States within Iran. Many Iranians believed that “American influence and power made a mockery of their national autonomy and desecrated their religious beliefs” (Farber, 37). The real struggle came once the Shah sought asylum in the U.S. Iran believed this to be a betrayal and demanded the Shah be released to the revolutionaries. Due to the fact that the United States did not refuse the Shah, the revolutionaries took the embassy in Tehran and all of the people that worked there hostage. One of the hostages wrote back to his parents during the crisis “‘We will not be set free until shah is released and the longer we stay here like this the better is a chance for something terrible to happen’” (Farber, 156). The siege was led by Iranian students who supported the revolution and the Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader that the revolution had selected to take the place of the

    Read More

  • Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq by Stephen Kinzer

    782 Words  | 2 Pages

    Kinzer tells us that the Iranians celebrated their nationalism in taking control of their oil, but their success was a shock to the British multinational companies in Iran. They did not like the idea of Iran nationalization, so they plan a coup to overthrow the Prime Minister Mossadegh. But this plan failed and the British were disarmed and sent back to their country closing down their embassy in Iran. The British tried to present their case to the United State in a way that the United State would intervene. So they presented a case that Mossaghe is not only nationalizing the Iranians oil, he is also leading Iran into communism. This case stirred the American action and they feared if they assassinate Mossaghe, his seat will be open and communist ...

    Read More

  • Argo: Most Audacious Rescue In History

    1663 Words  | 4 Pages

    The book, Argo: How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History, written by Antonio Mendez and Matt Baglio, is a first-hand account of the dangerous but successful mission, aided by Hollywood and the Canadian government, to rescue six US diplomats from Iran after they escaped the US embassy during the Iran Hostage Crisis. Even though this is a non-fictional story, it still has themes. This story about courage and problem-solving conveys many important messages to the reader. The most meaningful message that Antonio Mendez and Matt Baglio are trying to convey to the reader is that no matter how difficult it seems to solve a certain problem, you can solve any problem as long as you put your mind to it, and are confident

    Read More

  • 'Imperialism In The Film Argo'

    1255 Words  | 3 Pages

    Through the whole movie there is never an intimate interaction between two Iranians, they have no opportunity to humanize the Iranian country as a whole. Therefore, the audience is led to believe that all of Iran is represented by the generic description and hostile toward Americans. The closest interaction is when the house maid gives up the six diplomats, and even in that the Iranians are shown with more flaws, treachery and betrayal. This puts Iran as a country the antagonist of the movie based on these false characteristics and the events in the movie, many of which were exaggerated or created. Argo proves that Orientalism is still impactful today, and the West still sees the East in a like manner of that in the 1800’s.

    Read More

  • Firoozeh's Perception Of The American Dream

    588 Words  | 2 Pages

    Before the revolution when Dumas and her family first moved to Whittier, California, a mother and her daughter kindly helped Firoozeh and her mother find their way home, inattentive to the fact they were Iranian. “This kind stranger agreed to take us back to our house” (Dumas, 7). On the other hand, after eradicating the Shah, Iranian terrorists had a substantial motive to capture American hostages, and the country began to develop hostility towards all Iranians. Dumas recalls, “During our stay in Newport Beach, the Iranian Revolution took place and a group of Americans were taken hostage in the American embassy in Tehran. Overnight, Iranians living in America became, to say the least, very unpopular. For some reason, many Americans began to think that all Iranians, despite outward appearances to the contrary, could at any given moment get angry and take prisoners” (Dumas, ). Ignorance and xenophobia became the prime factors that led to this intense discrimination. The author describes the injustice her father experienced while searching for a job, “At the sight of the Iranian passport, the lawyer turned pale, ‘I am so sorry, but the government of Saudi Arabia does not accept Iranians at this time.’” (Dumas, 120). Contradicting with what Dumas’s father assumed America would provide for him, a job, he was turned down by many of them by the

    Read More

  • The Causes Of The Iran-Contra Affair

    688 Words  | 2 Pages

    For decades, U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East had depended on a friendly government in Iran. The newly appointed leader, the shah of Iran, began Westernizing the country and taking away power from the Ayatollah, powerful religious leaders. The United States poured millions of dollars into Iran’s economy and the shah’s armed forces, overlooking the rampant corruption in government and well-organized opposition. By early 1979, the Ayatollah had murdered the Shah and taken back power of the government. A group of students who took the American embassy hostage on November 4th, 1979, turned the embassy over to the religious leaders. Carter knew he must take action in order to regain the American embassy and the hostages, but with all of the military cutbacks, the rescue attempt was a complete failure and embarrassment. It took the United States 444 days to rescue the hostages. This was the final straw for many Americans, and enough to push them to the “right” side of the political spectrum, Republican.

    Read More

  • Jimmy Carter

    960 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...w the United States’ close ally Shah. Countless modernizers were persecuted, arrested and executed. In November 52 United States diplomats were held hostage by student revolutionaries who’d seized the American embassy in Tehran. America took immediate action and seized all Iranian assets. The United States attempted to negotiate. The negotiation, to the dismay of the American people dragged on for 444 days. There was a large push for President Carter to use military forces as means of negotiations; he however opted for peaceful means, which proved to be unsuccessful. Finally in April 1980 the President sanctioned a rescue mission. The attempt failed due to technical difficulties, eight men died; as a result the nation became extremely unnerved. Carter's dialogue with Iran continued throughout 1980. This was yet another failure on Carter’s part to rectify an issue.

    Read More

  • The Iran-contra Affair

    753 Words  | 2 Pages

    Reagan had said he would never deal with supporters of terrorists, which he considered Iran's leaders to be. But he and his advisers believed Iran could get the hostages released. Members of the Administration arranged for the CIA to secretly purchase arms from the Department of Defense. Private individuals bought the arms from the CIA and sold them to Iran in return for its promises of help in the hostage release. But the sales led to the release of only three hostages, and three more Americans were taken hostage during the same period.

    Read More

  • The Fountainhead

    749 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Fountainhead is a novel about the ideals of four characters: Howard Roark, Peter Keating, Ellsworth Toohey, and Gail Wynand, all brought together to play different roles in the architecture industry. Ayn Rand introduces confusing concepts in her novel The Fountainhead; her characters do not fit the status quo and therefore they do things that the reader does not understand. They are caught up in the world of architecture and deciding between acts of selfishness and selflessness. Howard Roark had an unusual definition of selfishness opposed to the reader; he believed selfishness is was staying true to ones ideals and goals no matter what people might say. As for Peter Keating his definition of selfishness is doing everything for oneself and not worrying about who they are hurting or using.

    Read More

  • The Iran Hostage Crisis

    2450 Words  | 5 Pages

    The late 20th century was a very turbulent time in American history. In 1976, Jimmy Carter was elected to the presidency, and he had many goals to help better America. However, on November 4th, 1979, a group of radical students seized the United States’ embassy in Tehran, Iran. This completely altered the course of American history and relations with the Middle East. This crisis had many impacts on the United States. It caused the Energy Crisis which in turn caused the Recession of 1979. The Iran Hostage Crisis also had political consequences for President Carter. It was a major factor that contributed to him losing the election of 1980 to Ronald Reagan. Additionally, this crisis led to many instances of racial discrimination toward Iranian-Americans and Iranian immigrants. Even after the Hostage Crisis was resolved, the bad blood between the two countries continued; the United States helped Iraq in the war against Iran, and the Iranians backed a second hostage situation in Lebanon. The Iran Hostage Crisis was a very important event that impacted America in many ways and destroyed our relationship with Iran. The consequences of this event are still felt today and continue to our foreign policies toward Iran.

    Read More

  • Biran De Palma's Scarface

    1333 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Scarface”, an original gangster film created by Brian De Palma, has captured audience’s attention by remarkable editing shots and the superb use of mise-en-scene. “Scarface”, originally released December 9 of1983, is a drama revolved around the life of Tony Montana who is played by Al Pacino. Tony gets his name by the scar on his face going over his right eye. He was born in Cuba who immigrated to the United State who then starts his life in Florida from the bottom of the drug cartel to soon making his way up to becoming one of the most powerful cocaine cartel leaders in Miami. What made this film so realistic was because at the time, Miami was becoming a huge crime scene to cocaine smuggling and drug wars. According to Answers.com, this time was brutal and the people associated with this lifestyle were known as “Cocaine Cowboys” (par.3). It was a time where it wasn’t unusual to see and hear about drug related deaths. Brian De Palma captured all of this by his utilization of editing style and application of precise mise-en-scene.

    Read More

  • Argo: Government Relationships

    2064 Words  | 5 Pages

    Johnson, Brian D. "Ben Affleck Rewrites History ‘Argo’ Shifts the Spotlight from Ken Taylor, Our Man in Tehran, to CIA Spy Tony Mendez." Maclean's. N.p., 12 Sept. 2012. Web. 10 Dec. 2013.

    Read More

  • The Causes and Effects of the Iranian Revolution Religiously and Politically

    2489 Words  | 5 Pages

    Although the Iranian Revolution was caused by combination of political and religious motivations and ideas, the desires of the people supporting the movement were more dominantly religious ideas that were wished to be imposed in society and in a new government. The Shah, or king, of Iran at the time was Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, who had developed relations with nations in “western” world, specifically with the United States. The United States supported the White Revolution, which was a series of social reformations the Shah made to remove Islamic v...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Movie Argo

    1051 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ben Affleck, director, does an excellent job with the movie Argo. Being able to find the fear and suspension in every scene is difficult to do, yet Affleck does so seamlessly. Based off a true historical event that happened in 1979, Affleck choses to pick the Iranian Hostage Crisis. He starts out the movie with some background information, so that viewers are able to have some understanding of what has happened and why this is happening. He then merges into a heartbreaking scene, where a mob of Iranians have bombarded their way into the American Embassy. Screaming and shouting at the top of their lungs, the actions happening outside are horrific. Showing the fear in every American’s eyes in the building pulls at every heart

    Read More

  • Iago

    1140 Words  | 3 Pages

    Iago, the evil villain of Shakespeare's Othello, is more than just a villain. In many ways he is the most intelligent and appealing character in the play. Iago shows superiority over the rest of the characters in the play. He has the ability to manipulate the characters in the play, therefore controlling the play with every sequence of events. His intelligence shines through his ability to deceive, his ability to strategize, and his ability to twist the truth. Iago is appealing to the characters of the pay because he gives them what they want. Iago is appealing to the reader as well. His character is totally unconflicted about being evil, making him known to some authors as the villain of all villains. Iago is, in many ways, the most intelligent and appealing character in the play.

    Read More

More about R. Affleck's Argo

Open Document