jonesygirl
Tribunica Potestas
Hi,
Last night we watched Argo and yet again another Hollywood blockbuster was spoiled for me because of the historical junk it contained. I don't wish this to become political but for once I would like to put the record straight. A senior CIA officer says “The Brits turned them away”...meaning the British Embassy staff refused to lift a finger to help the embassy staff from the US. That is rubbish. The British Embassy at the time was surrounded by an angry mob of Iranian students. The group's leader, Anders took his colleagues back to his flat and made several desperate phone calls. Eventually they received a call from the British Embassy offering the five refuge at the British residential centre known as Gulhak. They were to stay put and await an orange 1976 orange Austin Maxi to take them to safety. The car finally arrived and after a scary drive arrived at Gulhak where the Americans were well watered and fed. However the Iranian students were now fired up to push on to Gulhak and surrounded the residence. A Pakistani guard in his 50's called Iskander Khan stood firm and persuaded the students that the compound was empty.....a classic case of “These are not the Droids you are looking for.” However the following morning it was decided that the students could come back at any time and the game would be up. For a few days the five Americans were placed in an empty house belonging to an American official where they were joined by a sixth colleague. This group of six were eventually saved by the Canadians and the CIA. The British had played their part as best they could in helping the group.
Ben Affleck says that he was setting up a situation where the audience needed to get a sense that the six had nowhere else to go and he didn't mean to diminish anyone. What claptrap. We have seen this attitude far too many times in Hollywood films. They simply don't give a fig about people involved who are still alive..like the British captain who recovered the Enigma code from the German submarine, not the all American hero of U-571!!
It would have improved the film and added to the tension if the journey in the Austin Maxi car and the stand off with the Pakistani guard had been shown because that is what happened.
OK. Now please put up your hand if you have seen the film and actually believed the lie told that “The Brits turned them away.”.
Last night we watched Argo and yet again another Hollywood blockbuster was spoiled for me because of the historical junk it contained. I don't wish this to become political but for once I would like to put the record straight. A senior CIA officer says “The Brits turned them away”...meaning the British Embassy staff refused to lift a finger to help the embassy staff from the US. That is rubbish. The British Embassy at the time was surrounded by an angry mob of Iranian students. The group's leader, Anders took his colleagues back to his flat and made several desperate phone calls. Eventually they received a call from the British Embassy offering the five refuge at the British residential centre known as Gulhak. They were to stay put and await an orange 1976 orange Austin Maxi to take them to safety. The car finally arrived and after a scary drive arrived at Gulhak where the Americans were well watered and fed. However the Iranian students were now fired up to push on to Gulhak and surrounded the residence. A Pakistani guard in his 50's called Iskander Khan stood firm and persuaded the students that the compound was empty.....a classic case of “These are not the Droids you are looking for.” However the following morning it was decided that the students could come back at any time and the game would be up. For a few days the five Americans were placed in an empty house belonging to an American official where they were joined by a sixth colleague. This group of six were eventually saved by the Canadians and the CIA. The British had played their part as best they could in helping the group.
Ben Affleck says that he was setting up a situation where the audience needed to get a sense that the six had nowhere else to go and he didn't mean to diminish anyone. What claptrap. We have seen this attitude far too many times in Hollywood films. They simply don't give a fig about people involved who are still alive..like the British captain who recovered the Enigma code from the German submarine, not the all American hero of U-571!!
It would have improved the film and added to the tension if the journey in the Austin Maxi car and the stand off with the Pakistani guard had been shown because that is what happened.
OK. Now please put up your hand if you have seen the film and actually believed the lie told that “The Brits turned them away.”.
