Argo Movie Analysis

The film “Argo”, directed by Ben Affleck, re-enacted the events of the Canadian Caper during the Iranian Hostage Crisis (1979-1981) in Tehran, Iran. Not all 53 hostages were captured as six American diplomats escaped and were taken into the care of Ken Taylor, the Canadian Prime Minister at the time, in the Canadian embassy. Taylor and the Canadian government created a plan to help the diplomats escape, however, they needed an intelligence force to back them up, which they didn’t have. The C.I.A was contacted to help Canada get the diplomats back to Canada safely with fake Canadian passports. The C.I.A created the fake movie called “Argo” as well as a fake studio and script. They sent in Tony Mendez and his accomplice to help prepare the Canadian’s to re-enact their given roles as a film crew and helped them escape, without any interrogations, back to Canada. However, Affleck’s movie had exaggerated the role of the C.I.As involvement that Tony Mendez alone came up with the plan to help the diplomats escape as well as the idea of a fake movie, making Taylor appear as an innkeeper who didn’t create the plan. However, perhaps Affleck had every reason to exaggerate the movie because Taylor’s involvement in the Caper was also exaggerated to the extent that he alone came up with the escape plan. This essay will show, along with evidence from the sources, how Affleck’s movie exaggerated the plot and involvement of the C.I.A as opposed to real events, but also on how he had every