Historical Accuracy in Argo

Historical Accuracy in Argo

Argo, the 2012 film directed by Ben Affleck. It is based on a true story. It is concerned with events that happended during the Iranian Revolution in 1979. It is about the mission to rescue six Americans who went into hiding when Iraninan protesters took over U.S. Embassy. A CIA agent named Tony Mendez led a team of rescuers who pretended to be members of a Canadian film crew. They went to Iran and acted like they were looking for locations for a new science fiction movie. When they left, they snuck the six American refugees out of the country with them. In a review of Argo, Richard Brody refers to it as "a superficial tale of derring do that gets its air of importance from its basis in history that it takes for granted and leaves untouched." In this approach, Brody criticizes the historical inaccuracies in the film. Although Brody is correct in making this claim, he is also too critical in his judgment of a film that is not a documentary but is meant to present a fiction version of history. Many Hollywood movies have been made about historical topics. Historical facts are often changed to create more suspenseful and exciting stories. Audiences can learn about historical events in Hollywood productions, but they should not expect the movies to provide them with complete historical accuracy.

The accuracy of Argo can be determined by comparing it to the story told in Bearman's article. The beginning of the film, which gives details the Iranian Revolution and shows the U.S. Embassy in Tehran being invaded, is historically correct. In the movie, the American workers tried to remain calm until "the power went out and panic spread throughout the building" (Bearman). The film is also accurate in describing how Tony Mendez worked with the CIA and his friends in Hollywood to develop a plan to rescue the six Americans who were not taken hostage by Iranian revolutionaries. However, there are also numerous differences in detail between the historical facts and the film. Per Barthel et al. “some of the factual errors are minor and others are somewhat serious”. The scene that has receives the most criticism is the one that takes place at the airport towards the end of the film. In Argo, it is made to seem that the fake film crew might be caught at any moment. The airport guards look carefully at their passports and ask them numerous questions. One of the guards calls the fake studio in Hollywood and almost does not get an answer. Police cars chase the plane, which takes off as the police approchaes. In Bearman’s article, the escape at the airport was indeed suspenseful, but not as much as shown in the film. If caught, Mendez and the others could have been executed. Their nervousness was increased as they talk to guards and waited through delays. Bearman claims, "the wait was agonizing" (44). Conversely, there were no last-minute chases and the effort went well for the most part at the airport.

Argo's filmmakers enhance the suspense in the airport scene to increase excitement and to engage the audience. The purpose is to increase the movie's profitability. Moviemakers exaggerate historical truths to create more drama, and actions. Without these elements, a film might seem boring and no one will want to spend money to see it. Like Brody, Barthel et al. are critical of how this is done in Argo. In their review of the movie, the authors state, "the historical lessons are predictably and shamelessly sacrificed for the sake of suspense" (Barthel et al. 84). It seems that reviewers like Brody and Barthel et al. are too harsh in their criticism of Argo, because the film justifies the historial event and a like suspsense does not change the story or the history