The movie Thirteen Days is 2000 docudrama and is directed by Roger Donaldson who is Australian and tries to portray the film in a serious manor. The movie is based on the 13 days of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and shows the perspective of the US political leadership, specifically Special Assistant to the president Kenny O’Donnell, President John F. Kennedy and the Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. This film is not based on the book of the same name written by Robert F. Kennedy like the first docudrama film about the Cuban Missile Crisis, The Missiles of October; this film was meticulously researched and was based on The Kennedy Tapes: inside the white house during the Cuban Missile Crisis which was written by Ernest May and Phillip Zelikow. This is a positive for the film because Thirteen Days had the possibility to become an almost accurate film due to the declassification of important documents, but this was not the case due to the ‘Hollywood effect’ which is a key reason why this film is not history but entertainment. This film exposes how close America actually came to a Nuclear Holocaust. In this essay I shall cover all the positives and negatives to show whether or not the film is a good source of history but or actually was made for entertainment purposes. There are two main historical issues with this film that make it more entertainment than History; the first being Kevin Costner’s portrayal of Special Assistant Kenny O’Donnell, although the film is seen through his eyes and shows him to be in John F. Kennedy inner circle; in reality he may not have played an important role as the film portrays, since he was only Kennedy’s appointment secretary not the Personal advisor he is portrayed as in this film. Another historical w...
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Thirteen Days is an autobiography written by Robert F. Kennedy. It is based upon the memories of RFK during the Cuban missile crisis. He vividly recalls the thirteen days between October 16 and October 28, 1962. Within these thirteen days, havoc and stress faced the White House, especially to Senator RFK and his brother, President John F. Kennedy. The story is about the handling of the crisis by one brother and the personal account of the other. The two worked together to keep America and the world safe.
Thirteen days is a historical account of the Cuban Missile Crisis. It is told from the perspective of Robert F. Kennedy, senator and brother to President John F. Kennedy. It is an account of the thirteen days in October of 1962. It lasted from the 16th to the 28th. During this time many crucial events in United States.
Even though they were still in the middle of the Cold War, Russia and America were able to somewhat civilly make an equal agreement. The Soviets and Fidel Castro would remain allies, but would remove all missiles placed there prior, under the circumstances that America would lift the blockade and never invade Cuba. War was avoided, and America was proven to be the superior superpower since Russia backed down and retreated. It took nearly two weeks to solve this possible worldwide, life threatening crisis. During these thirteen days, President Kennedy proved that he wasn’t a weak, cowardly leader, and that he would take a stand in order to protect his people – showing the world that America wouldn’t just sit and let something happen, they would take action.
On October 22nd, 1962, President John F. Kennedy delivered the famous "Cuban Missile Crisis Address to the Nation" speech in response to Nikita Khrushchev’s act of placing nuclear and flying missiles on the island directly south of the United States: Cuba. The purpose of the speech was to alert the nation of the situation and inform them on how it would be handled. This speech successfully won the attention and respect of the American and Russian people through the use of multiple rhetorical devices.
The Cuban missile crisis can be argued to be one of the most dangerous events in the history of the United States. The United States was on the verge of nuclear warfare with Cuba and the Soviet Union. A United States’ spy plane discovered missile silos being constructed in Cuba. This raised suspicion for the president at the time, John F. Kennedy, and the rest
The Day After was an effective way of instilling a sense of both fear and respect for nuclear war into the minds of the American people. By portraying realistic doomsday scenarios that are played out in the lives of relatable families in a small city not unlike any other we would find in America, this film contextualizes the events prior to, during, and immediately after nuclear exchange between the United States and Russia was unleashed onto our own soil.
Perhaps the most critical moment that had occurred to the United States and the world of the last century is the Cuban Missile Crisis. The significance of this event was that it had brought the world to the closest it could ever be to a nuclear war. Millions of lives, cultures and infrastructure would have been lost if it was not splendidly dealt with. Yet, a man was able to prevent this devastation, and he was none other than President John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK) of the United States. How was he significant to the event? This research paper will discuss it with the points that are based on JFK’s characteristics. Hence, to provide an overview of this paper; the outbreak of nuclear warfare was prevented in the Cuban Missile Crisis specifically by John F. Kennedy’s many distinguished characteristics.
October of 1962 is considered by many the closest the world has ever been to a third World War. As pressure between the Soviet Union and United State grew so did the fears of the American people. Due in part because of its proximity to the United States, Cuba was the perfect place from which the Soviet Union could launch an attack. This was cause for real alarm, Cuba had already begun building silos and launch pads for nuclear missiles that would be able to do massive amounts of damage to the United States. John F. Kennedy’s speech regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis was one of the greatest factors in preventing a third World War as well as keeping domestic peace.
The movie 28 Days allows viewers to gain perspective into the addictions recovery process. The main character, Gwen Cummings, a newspaper columnist, attends court ordered rehab for reckless driving while under the influence of alcohol. These writers diagnose Gwen with alcohol use disorder, opioid use disorder, and tobacco use based on several indicators.
On November 22, 1963, president John F. Kennedy was assassinated and it became the most scrutinized event in the U.S. history, because of the way details did not add up. Hundreds of books have been written along with films and TV shows. This questioning of authoritative institutions became popular because of their mistrust of the government. A mistrust that began when the National Security Act of 1947 was created and the concept of compartmentalizing information was introduced. It was structured this way to contain the spread of communism, but because no one knew the whole piece of the puzzle, it gave way for speculations, for conspiracies. With the assassination of president JFK, came back the idea that the Red Menace was responsible, ideas of McCarthyism coming back, where there was fear and
The Cuban Missile Crisis lasted two weeks in the midst of the Cold War, and brought the world closer to nuclear war than ever before. In October of 1962 multiple nuclear missiles of the Soviet Union’ s were discovered in Cuba, a mere 90 miles south of the United States. Given the communist ties between Cuba and the USSR, this poised a considerable threat to our national security. Throughout the 14 days the two leaders, John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev struggled to clearly understand each others‘ genuine intentions. Actions taken by each state during this crisis demonstrates the realist point of view, in a variety of ways. The fundamentals of Realism will be explored and explained along with actions taken during this crisis from a realist point of view.
Chang, Laurence and Peter Kornbluh. The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962. New York: The New Press, 1992.
This source provided a very good counter-argument to the usual interpretation of the Cuban Missile Crisis. It gives an insightful criticism of the Cuban Missile Crisis as seen through American propaganda. This internet article was able to give an opposite interpretation of the events and portray the U.S as the aggressor in some ways, which helped make my paper more well-rounded.
Stern, Sheldon M. The Cuban Missile Crisis in American Memory: Myths versus Reality. Stanford, CA: Stanford Univ., 2012. Print.
Roger Donaldson’s film, Thirteen Days dramatizes the Kennedy administration reaction to the Cuban Missile Crisis. The film discusses a time when the United States had come close to a nuclear war with other nations. The film mainly focuses on showing the audience the United States perspective of the crisis. The Cuban Missile crisis was a thirteen-day long confrontation between the United States, Cuba, and the Soviet Union. This crisis started out when both the United States and the Soviet Union wanted to be seen as the most superior nation in the world. Therefore, both nations decided to use the technology they had in order to produce nuclear missiles and other weapons to show the globe how powerful they were as nations. The United States and