Video and if it Enhanced

¶ … video and if it enhanced my understanding of the topic. "Thirteen Days" chronicles the White House reaction to the Cuban Missile Crisis. It is set in October 1962, and covers the period after a spy plane discovered the Soviets were setting up nuclear missiles in Cuba that would reach most major cities on the East Coast. It shows President John F. Kennedy and his top advisors dealing with the crisis, demanding the Soviets remove the missiles, and waiting out a Soviet attempt at running a U.S. Naval blockade of Cuba, and it makes the situation seem as dramatic and fearful as it must have been for the American people at the time.

This is the most modern of the three films reviewed, and it does not point to military blunders and poor leadership. Instead, this film shows that the administration attempted to reach a settlement through diplomacy, the Russians stonewalled, making it seem as if they thought we were stupid, and that the blockade of Cuba eventually worked, and the Russians removed the weapons. It showed the danger of the situation, how it could affect the American people (a nuclear war could have occurred), and how the administration dealt with the problem effectively, as it turned out.

This is a real drama, just as the other two films were, but it was a relief for the film to paint a more positive view of the military and the government, because the other two were so negative, it helped build cynicism and distrust of the military. Here, the military stood up to Russian ships and they were ready to fire if necessary, and a group of people sat down together and formed a plan to help keep the world at peace. I think this film was far more positive, even though it showcased a very volatile situation, and that it was easier to watch because it was more positive and painted the government in a better light. It did convey the sense of urgency and fear that surrounded the Cold War and the nuclear arms race, and it showcased how difficult it was to negotiate with the Russians, who lied and built alliances that were very dangerous to the United States. 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.