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| A cosmic conflagration - or something like that. |
Interesting as the operation was, however, it is not my primary point to address. My point is to cite the saga as an example of the intelligence community, or IC, tampering in science fiction, and invite readers to consider the extents some may suffer from short-sightedness when attempting to analyze such tampering. I suggest that interested parties would be well served to consider there are many potential reasons the IC might have a presence not only in the sci fi genre, but in ufology and similar such other media, far beyond the reasons typically discussed. The 'Argo' saga provides us with just such a circumstance for review.
In order to proceed with such considerations, we must first take a look at what, for those unaware, was the apparent remarkable execution of a brilliant deception operation. The artist, both literally and figuratively, was Antonio J. 'Tony' Mendez, who described himself as “a painter first and a spy second.” When not committing his visions to canvas, Mr. Mendez served in the Directorate of Operations and the Directorate of Science and Technology of the Central Intelligence Agency.
The challenge
Tony Mendez was an expert at physically moving people in and out of otherwise hostile regions and conditions, work known within the IC as infiltration and exfiltration. He was called upon in December of 1979 to help with an operation eventually declassified in 1997 by the Clinton administration.
The challenge in 1979 was related to the infamous November takeover of the American embassy in Tehran, Iran. Hostages would be held for some 444 days before their release in January of 1981 but, at the time Mendez was contacted in December, 1979, there was yet another problem at hand. In addition to the dozens of Americans being held at the embassy by Iranians, Mendez was informed there were an additional six Americans, five of which had worked at the embassy, who evaded capture and were hiding with the help of Canadian diplomats. The CIA wanted Mendez to assist in somehow safely bringing the six from Tehran back to the West.
Mendez described the 1979-80 operation in his work, 'A Classic Case of Deception, CIA Goes Hollywood'. The piece was posted in 2007 on the CIA website and is labeled a historical document. Mendez reported developing an elaborate scheme in which he posed as a filmmaker in order to create cover stories for the endangered six and successfully exfiltrate them from Iran.
The solution
Mendez proceeded to set up a CIA-funded Hollywood production company, aptly naming it Studio Six. He also enrolled the assistance of a seasoned Hollywood makeup artist to help him navigate the film industry.
A science fiction script was obtained, based on a 1967 Roger Zelazny award-winning novel, 'Lord of Light'. Scenes included settings of rough terrain and markets as found in and around Tehran. Mendez found such scenes advantageous to his plan to visit Iran under the guise of searching for locations to shoot the film.
The 'Lord of Light' fantasy storyline involved aliens, futuristic humans and gods. Advanced technology was also involved. The story delved into philosophy and metaphysics, contained overtones of Buddhism, Hinduism and reincarnation, and built up to a cosmic war waged for all the marbles. Would we expect anything less?
The script was subsequently titled 'Argo' and included the accompanying tag line, “A Cosmic Conflagration.” Mendez explained how money was flashed around Hollywood, events were conducted and press releases were published in trade magazines. Posters were made, business cards were printed and resumes were created, all for the production of a movie that he never had any intention whatsoever of actually making.
Mendez and an accomplice flew separately to Tehran in January, 1980, claiming to be leading a Canadian production team searching for a place to film 'Argo'. With the continued help of the Canadian government, Mendez met with the six Americans in hiding, supplied them with alternative identities and provided them with Canadian passports. The resumes supported their cover stories.
Posing as a Canadian film crew while the American embassy was under siege, the entourage successfully navigated the Mehrabad Airport in Tehran, boarded Swissair and flew from Iran to Switzerland. The entire operation, from start to finish, amazingly took only about a month and a half to complete.
Argo is over-praised by film critics and not up to Affleck's previous work.
ReplyDeleteThere have been enough news stories about Argo's inaccuracies for most in the audiences to understand that it's primarily fiction because the real story was heavily altered for dramatic effect. That's true of all Hollywood "based on a true story" films and bio-pics. If you want truth in films, only go see documentaries. But even there, you will find the director has a definite point of view and the film is edited (and skewed) to present that point of view.
Given the prevalence of the overt hawking of products by major corporations in every film made in the USA, I don't see why the military or any other government agency can't also promote itself just like Coke or Apple or Ford. Every time a character in a movie holds a can so you can read Pepsi on it, it was a paid product placement meant to influence, you, the audience to buy Pepsi. Tom Hanks' "Cast Away" was essentially a big commercial for Fed Ex. Why don't you object to that in films?
I have no love for the CIA, but on the other hand some of us are truly fed up with the conspiratorial religious ferver that has taken root in the paranomal/anomaly/UFO community. It's really gotten old and tired. Do we really need more of this?
Other blogs have already gone down this road with this movie, and with Zero Dark Thirty, and at least a half dozen other films, including sci fi and UFO movies.