Post WWII film research post 5

For my film research I watched the movie Thirteen Days- by Roger Donaldson. The topic of research was The Cold War, and Thirteen Days focused on The Cuban Missile Crisis. Many films have historical backgrounds or have snippets of historical fact and fiction, but what does it mean to truly be a historical film. A historical film is one that's main point is sincerely for people to learn more about a historic event. It should be centered around the historical event and have mostly historic facts. Examples of historic films 12 years a slave- about slavery, Glory- About The Civil War, and Smoke Signals- about the history of Native Americans. All of these films had the purpose of displaying a historic event, and I believe that Thirteen Days is an excellent historical film because of the accuracy that it shows in centering around The Cuban Missile Crisis.

When it comes to a historic event like The Cuban Missile Crisis the media and so many other factors over the years can cause information to be misplaced, construed, or just plain forgotten. That is why it is important for historic films like Thirteen Days to set the record straight and give people a true perspective on the way that the event unfolded. The events that take place in Thirteen Days were incredibly accurate. I learned so much from the plot of the movie, and after I did some research, it was clear to me that almost everything was perfectly factual. The movie's opening scene shows a spy plane picking up the images of the Soviet missiles in Cuba, which was the same way that the missiles were found in real life. The movie also shows many of the white house meetings between President Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and staff rooms full of military generals and political advisers, which nobody knew the details about until Thirteen Days displayed it perfectly. I was also not aware that warning shots were fired at a Soviet vessel in the blockade of Cuba, Commander Ecker's plane was shot at in an intelligence fly over the missiles, and that Major Rudolf Anderson Jr. of the U.S Airforce was killed after being shot down by a missile flying high over Cuba. All of these events could have been the start of a nuclear war between the Soviets and the United States and without the movie showing them, people would never know how close the crisis actually brought the two countries to war. All of the Characters were real as well. President J.F.K, his brother Robert Kennedy, his political adviser Ken O'Donnell, Major Anderson, General LeMay, -ex..  were all real characters that made the movie more factual. As I began to fact check events from the movie, I looked at movie reviews by Roger Ebert and The Guardian, that backed up the movie's historical accuracy. Because of how much the movie taught me about the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the accuracy in which it displays it in, Thirteen Days will forever be one of my favorite historical movies that I will recommend to my family and friends

Post WWII film research post 4

Works Cited

BLINKEN, ANTONY J., DAVID E. SANGER and WILLIAM J. BROAD, Michael Krepon, CHOE SANG-HUN, DAVID E. SANGER, CHOE SANG-HUN, CHRIS BUCKLEY and MICHAEL R. GORDON, Richard Goldstein, Steven Erlanger, JAVIER C. HERNÁNDEZ, Alessandra Stanley, DAVID E. SANGER, Michiko Kakutani, David Nasaw, Jim Rutenberg, RUSSELL GOLDMAN and DAMIEN CAVE, and Frances Robles. "Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)." The New York Times. The New York Times, 18 Apr. 2017. Web. 16 May 2017. <https://www.nytimes.com/topic/subject/cuban-missile-crisis-1962>.

"Cuban Missile Crisis." John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2017. <https://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/Cuban-Missile-Crisis.aspx>.

Ebert, Roger. "Thirteen Days Movie Review & Film Summary (2001) | Roger Ebert." RogerEbert.com. N.p., 12 Jan. 2001. Web. 16 May 2017. <http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/thirteen-days-2001>.

Evans, Michael. The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962: A Political Perspective After 40 Years. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2017. <http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/>.

Tunzelmann, Alex Von. "Reel History | Thirteen Days: On the Brink of Nuclear War, Hollywood Steps in." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 26 Nov. 2009. Web. 16 May 2017. <https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/nov/26/thirteen-days>.

U.S. Department of State. U.S. Department of State, n.d. Web. 16 May 2017. <https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/cuban-missile-crisis>.

Post WWII film research post 3

Menu

Arroz con Pollo - A popular appetizer from Cuba, because the issue of the missile crisis takes place in Cuba

Arroz con Pollo

Buffalo Chicken dip- A popular American appetizer, because the American government is the one trying to solve the crisis

Buffalo Chicken dip

Cuban Sandwich- Because the missiles are located in Cuba and the Cuban sandwich is the most famous dish from the country.

Cuban Sandwich

Cheeseburger- The most iconic American dish in history, similar to how President Kennedy is one of the most iconic American presidents in history

Cheeseburger

Pelmeni- A popular Russian dish because Russia is the antagonist of the U.S, and they planted the missiles in Cuba. It is a meat dish because The USSR and The U.S have "Beef"

Pelmeni

Flan- The most popular desert from Cuba where the missiles are located. If the Missiles were launched it would leave American cities "Desert"ed

Flan

Apple pie- The most iconic American dessert that became popular in the 1960's around the crisis

Apple pie

Post WWII film research post 2

Exhibit

Original newspaper from the day after Kennedy's blockade was placed on Cuba

The American press posted this to scare Americans into being dependent on media

American blockade Cuba, and Quarantine soviet ships

Adlai Stevenson confronting Zorin and the UN about the missiles in Cuba

Footage of soviet missiles in Cuba, taken from spy plane

Map of U.S cities in range of Soviet missiles in Cuba

American fallout shelter in long island 1962

Adlai Stevenson addresses Soviet Ambassador at UN meeting

President Kennedy addresses staff about missiles in cuba

Post WWII film research post 1

Cuban Missile Crisis

Resolve The Cuban Missile Crisis: In only thirteen days

Guest list:

• President John F. Kennedy
• Robert Kennedy
• Ken O'Donnell 
• Gen. Curtis LeMay
• Adlai Stevenson II
• Gen. Maxwell Taylor
• Gen. Marshall Carter
• Com. William B. Ecker

- John F. Kennedy was invited because he is the President of the United States and any major decision must flow through him first. He will ultimately have to decide if we go to war or not

- Robert Kennedy was invited because he is the attorney general and he is The president's brother, he is always present in the same room as the president and always helps him make decisions.
-Ken O'Donnell was invited because he is the political advisor to President Kennedy, and he will play another key role in effecting President Kennedy's choices in the crisis
-Adlai Stevenson was invited because he is the U.S ambassador in the UN, and he will play the role of communicating with the Soviet ambassador during the crisis, and attempting to get other countries to side with the U.S
-Generals LeMay, Taylor, and Carter were invited because they are all leaders in the U.S armed forces, and they need to give the president advice on how to handle the crisis from a military standpoint and get the military ready to defend against attacks.
-Commander William B. Ecker was invited because he is a pilot in the U.S Airforce who is the only one attempt to fly low over the soviet missiles in cuba to get footage without being shot down

WWI propaganda

1) Propaganda is any kind of media that a government or organization displays in order to persuade the public to do something that they want.

2) The Dictionary Says that propaganda is official government communications that are designed to influence opinion.

The artist uses a contrast of orange and yellow to draw the eye to the sunset cresting around the large fleet of naval ships on the water. The artist does this to paint an attractive image of the U.S navy to the viewer of the poster. The artist also pays close attention to detail and draws ripples and mirrored images of boats on the water. The artist also draws a sea man in a bright blue naval suit with two suitcases and he matches the large blue letters of the slogan with the color of the uniform. I think the message that the artist is trying to get across is that the Navy isn't a job that should be dreaded, but it is an adventure, and a way to brighten your horizon as a person and gain new perspectives. That explains the pretty sunset, the large suitcase in the man's hand and the smile on his face.         

The artist depicts several large strong men in matching army uniforms firing large black cannons. The slogan is written in large black letters that contrast the guns, and there is a bright blue sky ahead in the background. The point that the artist is trying to make is very simple, and it is very clear in the slogan. Joining the ordinance department will give you the opportunity to learn a trade, and fire large weapons and be a man. The image of the large guns and the thought of learning trades is something that stuck out very much to young men in the military.

This image displays a common man reading the newspaper. There is a sea man dressed in a Navy uniform grabbing him on the shoulder and pointing to a flying woman dressed in stars and stripes holding the American flag. The Naval officer in uniform represents the Navy, the lady in stars and stripes represents America, and the man reading the newspaper represents the American person reading the poster. The poster is simply saying that the navy needs people, and instead of sitting around looking at American history, people need to join the navy and make history for themselves.

4) I am very comfortable with the government spending tax dollars on propaganda. I believe it is extremely necessary in persuading people to do their duties as Americans. Most people are timid in the face of war, and it takes powerful work through propaganda to get Americans to support their country.

5) I think the federal government felt that it was necessary to invest in propaganda during WWI, because they believed that it would draw in more Americans to fight in the military and make it stronger.

The legend of Eddie Aikau

The film Hawaiian: The legend of Eddie Aikau, provides an insight of true Hawaiian culture and how it lives through surfing legend Eddie Aikau. While the film focuses on the story of Aikau, it also explains the history of Hawaiian culture, How imperialism affected Hawaii, and how Hawaiian culture shaped the life of Aikau and so many other Hawaiians. The ocean is a massive part of Hawaiian culture. The Polynesian Ancestors celebrated the ocean and relied on it for food and navigation. When the United States annexed Hawaii, they took away that culture. Suddenly, the white sandy beaches were filled with white people. Hotels popped up everywhere in Hawaii. Schools no longer taught the Hawaiian language, and Hawaiian people went to work in the sugar industry. Every single bit of the Hawaiian culture had been taken away, but the ocean still remained. Hawaiians flocked to the ocean where there was still one major tradition. The Hawaiians were the inventors of surfing, and eventually it became the only way for Hawaiians to experience their culture. The culture lived through Aikau. He surfed day and night until he was the greatest alive. Eventually Californian and Australian surfers took over and held competitions in Maui. Hawaiian surfers were believed to be non existent and not talented enough to compete. But Aikau would not let them take surfing away from the Hawaiian culture, it was all they had left. He worked until he eventually won the Duke Competition. He had preserved his culture. After retiring he reverted to sailing, which was another great Hawaiian tradition. He set out to sail from Hawaii to Tahiti as his ancestors did. When the ship flipped over in a storm, he set out on a surfboard to get help on shore. Eddie went missing and was never found. He might have died young, but through his relentless effort to spend his life surfing and sailing, he truly connected with his Hawaiian culture