This is a more recent time in history, so it was easier to identify with, as well.
The film really made the entire Cuban Missile Crisis clearer to me, too. I had heard of it, and the U-2 spy plane, but the film really laid out all the events in the order they occurred, and it showed just how dangerous a situation it was. It also showed that military intelligence works, even though the original flyby was just fairly routine. If the people who read the spy photographs had been less vigilant, the weapons might never have been discovered, and the situation could have ended far differently. I think the film did a really good job of portraying just how close the world was to nuclear war, too, which was frightening when you really stop to think about it.
This is also a really good historic look into the presidency, and what goes on when the country faces a crisis. I think it showed that JFK had a quick mind and...
This film was a look behind the scenes too, at the people who work in an administration and how much they carry on their shoulders. It also showed how the military is almost always looking at invasion or warfare, because that is their job, and it is up to others to come up with other conclusions. In that, it did portray the military in a poor light, but it also showed that they were efficient in how they managed the situation of the blockade and they were brave in their management, too. It showed what goes on inside the White House and how much negotiation and discussion there is in a crisis, and I thought that was very interesting and relevant to this course.
References
Thirteen Days. Dir. Roger Donaldson. Perf. Kevin Costner and Bruce Greenwood. New Line Cinema, 2000.
