Argo: Oscar's Best Picture and load of Hollywoodized B.S./lies?

[Moonlight Graham]

Written by Matthew Good, on his facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/matthewgoodmusic/posts/10151235702777554

The Truth Rarely Makes Good Films. Falsehoods, On The Other Hand...

Based on what can basically be termed fantasy, Argo is an outright “failure of truth”, as Nima Shiraz put it on Saturday. As he also rightly pointed out that at a time when the Iranians are being touted as world enemy number one – 99% of Americans recently polled believe that to be true despite the fact that the entire US intelligence community has repeatedly found no evidence to support anything of the sort, that a film that so blatantly relies on fictions presented as truths was gifted best picture.

During the clip shown of Argo, Ben Affleck sits on that Swissair jet as Iranians armed with machine guns chase the plane down the runway in a truck. The problem, of course, is that never happened. As Andrew O'Hehir so importantly pointed out in a piece in Salon, “there was no last-second chase on the runway of Mehrabad Airport, with wild-eyed, bearded militants with Kalashnikovs trying to shoot out the tires of a Swissair jet.”

Further to that – “The group underwent no interrogation at the airport about their imaginary movie, nor were they detained at the gate while a member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard telephoned their phony office back in Burbank.”

Even more, there was no resistance on the part of the Americans about portraying themselves as a film crew – they actually chose it from one of three cover story possibilities presented by the CIA. Further, none of them were “almost lynched by a mob of crazy Iranians in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar” – the reason being that they never actually went there despite that being portrayed in the film. They were never interrogated at the airport and there was no cancellation of their tickets because Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor had actually gone to the airport himself and purchased three different sets of tickets for three different flights.

What is even more damning comes straight from the mouth of one of the hostages, Mark Lijek. He was quoted as saying - “If asked, we were going to say we were leaving Iran to return when it was safer," Lijek recalled, "But no one ever asked!...The truth is the immigration officers barely looked at us and we were processed out in the regular way. We got on the flight to Zurich and then we were taken to the US ambassador's residence in Berne. It was that straightforward."

But probably more than that, the one man actually in a position of significant importance with regards to entire hostage crisis, President Jimmy Carter, has said – “90% of the contributions to the ideas and the consummation of the plan was Canadian [while] the movie gives almost full credit to the American CIA...-Ben Affleck's character in the film was only in Tehran a day and a half and the real hero in my opinion was Ken Taylor, who was the Canadian ambassador who orchestrated the entire process." After the film was shown at the Toronto Film Festival, a piece in MacLean’s rightfully pointed out - "the movie rewrites history at Canada's expense, making Hollywood and the CIA the saga's heroic saviours while Taylor is demoted to a kindly concierge."

How dangerous is it when most people get their historical "facts" from movies like Argo, Zero Dark Thirty, Lincoln etc.? Do people who make these movies based on very serious historical subjects have a responsibility to portray the truth, rather than what will sell more movie tickets and win Academy Awards? Should filmmakers be able to essentially write their own history to be mass-consumed, and bear little responsibility for it?

Edited February 26, 2013 by Moonlight Graham

[Bonam]

These movies are fictional accounts, not intended as documentaries. Most people realize that when watching them. If some people are stupid and think they are watching a documentary when they clearly are not, that's no one's problem but their own.

[Michael Hardner]

I concur. I'm seeing a lot of complaints about these historical fictions this year - but what about Inglorious Basterds ?

[Boges]

I concur. I'm seeing a lot of complaints about these historical fictions this year - but what about Inglorious Basterds ?

You mean Hitler didn't die that way?

I think there's a difference between a stylized movie like that and a movie that's supposed to be telling the story of a secret mission.

I think the comparison to the submarine movie is an apt one. U571 I think. Americans weren't even involved in capturing the enigma machine. The movie was almost completely made up.

[Moonlight Graham]

I concur. I'm seeing a lot of complaints about these historical fictions this year - but what about Inglorious Basterds ?

Yeah, Inglorious Basterds isn't exactly setting out to tell a true story. Some other films go out and make films telling the story of real historical events, but then make up a boatload of nonsense. Let's face it, the vast majority of people are going to watch Argo or Zero Dark Thirty rather than picking up a book that outlines the historical facts as much as possible. The result is a populace that has a false, hollywoodized perception of the truth. Obviously things like conversations have to be fabricated because there's often no record of them, but why mess with the basic facts? It's dangerous.

[bush_cheney2004]

It most certainly is not 'dangerous'...it is entertainment. Learn the difference.

Edited February 26, 2013 by bush_cheney2004

[GostHacked]

It most certainly is not 'dangerous'...it is entertainment. Learn the difference.

Maybe you can tell that to the 350 million other Americans.

[Boges]

Maybe you can tell that to the 350 million other Americans.

Yeah I'm sure after seeing Argo many people actually googled the truth about the event.

The movie was marketed as a top secret event that just recently became public. I remember seeing Bryan Cranston promoting the video during an episode of Breaking Bad promoting the movie that way.

[bush_cheney2004]

Yeah I'm sure after seeing Argo many people actually googled the truth about the event.

The actual event in real time was overshadowed by the bulk of American hostages being held for over a year, as well as the failed rescue attempt by the Carter Administration. Americans faking out the Iranian revolutionaries with Canada's CIA complicity was only one chapter in the story. The Iranian Hostage Crisis was a very big deal in the U.S

The movie was marketed as a top secret event that just recently became

public. I remember seeing Bryan Cranston promoting the video during an

episode of Breaking Bad promoting the movie that way.

True about the marketing, but the event was well known by those who were interested. As CIA plots go, it was garden variety stuff not much more interesting than a good episode of Alias or Mission:Impossible, which are clearly Hollywood fiction.

Edited February 26, 2013 by bush_cheney2004

[bush_cheney2004]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/ThanksCanada.JPG/350px-ThanksCanada.JPG

[The_Squid]

No, it isn't "dangerous"... It's dramatized and fictional. Most people get that.

Look at James Cameron and Titanic. He did a documentary recently looking at Titanic from a factual, historic perspective. In it he pointed out all the things he got wrong in the movie and those that were done for dramatic effect.

[GostHacked]

No, it isn't "dangerous"... It's dramatized and fictional. Most people get that.

I don't think most people would get that.

If Bush can string a few words together to make people think Iraq had something to do with 9/11, then guess what can be done with a full length hollywood feature!

Look at James Cameron and Titanic. He did a documentary recently looking at Titanic from a factual, historic perspective. In it he pointed out all the things he got wrong in the movie and those that were done for dramatic effect.

Ship hits iceberg, ship sinks. Seems factual to me. But everything else was kind of fluff 'based on true events' but not completely based on true events.

[DogOnPorch]

If Canada doesn't like it, Canada can make a movie.

[Boges]

If Canada doesn't like it, Canada can make a movie.

I'm sure the CBC is applying for a government grant to make one.

[DogOnPorch]

I'm sure the CBC is applying for a government grant to make one.

In the good ol' days, the National Film Board would have whipped one out in a month...lol. Probably starring that French Canadian kid, Ti-Jean, with the super powers.

[Moonlight Graham]

No, it isn't "dangerous"... It's dramatized and fictional. Most people get that.

A lot of people get it, but it doesn't change the fact that what is portrayed in films like Argo is what constitutes a great percentage of the "knowledge" of what most people know about many historical events. While the masses may consciously realize that these movies don't portray the whole truth, subconsciously they don't know much different than what is portrayed in mass media like film/tv shows and therefore internalize what is in these films as "knowledge". The problem is, people don't know what is truth or what is fiction in these stories "based on true events" unless they research it, which most people don't.

For instance, I don't know much else about the story surrounding Oskar Schindller other than what I saw in Schindler's List. I never bothered to google it or take a book out of the library about it, and most people haven't either. Therefore, pretty much all I know about Oskar Schindller's story is contained within the film, and presented with a film vs no other information to compare it to, one can't help but internalize a film in such instance as "knowledge". In my personal experience ie: a lot of people have also seen Braveheart, and claim they know about William Wallace, but a lot of what they assume about him and his story is false.

[Moonlight Graham]

These movies are fictional accounts, not intended as documentaries. Most people realize that when watching them. If some people are stupid and think they are watching a documentary when they clearly are not, that's no one's problem but their own.

No, it's your problem too, because many people are walking around with "knowledge" in their heads which is false. How the masses percieve history is going to affect you.

[Moonlight Graham]

Yeah I'm sure after seeing Argo many people actually googled the truth about the event.

Are you sure about that? After watching the film I'm sure many people also went home and looked at porn, then checked their Facebook page and went to bed.

[bush_cheney2004]

Oh sure.....so a "lot of people" think a large ape was captured on "Skull Island" and brought back to New York City, where he scaled the Empire State Building and swatted biplanes from the air before being shot and killed, as "beauty killed the beast".

And then there was this guy from the planet Krypton......

[cybercoma]

For better or worse, people's conceptions of the past are influenced by media portrayals of it, regardless of whether they're billed as documentaries or not. Is there not something to be said about the Cold War era from the Kubrick's satire Dr. Strangelove or the immigrant experience in America through The Godfather or Gangs of New York? Is there not some bit of real experience that is not being touched upon, despite the fictional characters and stories?

[bush_cheney2004]

Which begs the question, if some Canadians are so rattled by the treatment of "historical fact" in American media, why do they watch so damn much of it compared to Canadian produced content ?

[DogOnPorch]

Anne Hathaway's nipples?

[GostHacked]

Which begs the question, if some Canadians are so rattled by the treatment of "historical fact" in American media, why do they watch so damn much of it compared to Canadian produced content ?

Because we love seeing you post about it on Canadian forums hosted on servers in Texas.

[bush_cheney2004]

Anne Hathaway's nipples?

Nipples ? We got entire boobage according to Seth's introduction number. Now where is my copy of Mullholland Drive ?

But it's all Hollywood fake, right ?

[DogOnPorch]

Nipples ? We got entire boobage according to Seth's introduction number. Now where is my copy of Mullholland Drive ?

But it's all Hollywood fake, right ?

I'd imagine they'd be larger if fake.