It takes attention away from more important stories including: (1) the American intervention in Iranian affairs which led to the brutal and repressive 25 year reign of the Shaw, an intervention that continues to be a major factor in the long-lasting hatred of the U.S. by many people in Iran; and (2) the plight of the 52 American diplomats who were held hostage and sometimes tortured for 444 days after the embassy take-over. The political climate was simply too dangerous. 2023 Iran Times - An Independent newspaper. [Students who want to go further can read the book written by Tony Mendez, the CIA spymaster who planned and carried out the operation, Argo How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History.]. But SF film to smuggle out hostages! Even so, we knew that both the foreign ministry and our embassy had records of houses leased by U.S. employees. Diplomacy has slowed down Irans nuclear program, but has yet to be successful in stopping it, and both U.S. presidential candidates have made it clear that they will resort to military action if Iran begins to build a nuclear weapon. What happened to the maid at the Canadian embassy in Argo? As we all heard Vice President Joe Biden articulate last week in the debates, the facts matter.. Gain access to and watch the Special Features information that has been released with the film. Maid Marian is a fictitious character from the folklore of Robin The story of Ben Affleck's "Argo" concerns the real-life rescue of six fugitive American embassy employees from Ayatollah "Salman Rushdie Fatwa" Khomeini's Iran in 1980. Ben Affleck's film Argo tells the bizarre story of how in 1980 the CIA - with Canadian help - sprang a group of Americans from Iran after they escaped a US embassy overrun by protestors. Roman Haller owes his life to a 20-year-old housekeeper. There is a close call at the bazaar and at the airport, and the phone call to the supposed studio is nearly missed. But we needed to sever all links to the former American community, and we did not tell him where we were going. The four "Golden Girls" were originally supposed to be accompanied by a live-in gay housekeeper named Coco who would have been be in charge of the cooking, the cleaning, and his share of the sassy comebacks. Why did the CIA go into such depth as creating a fake production company, manning offices in Hollywood, having the Canadians create fake identities for the houseguests? They had gotten married the week before the events that take place in the movie, she told LAWeekly. She just got thrown from one shitty situation created by American foreign policy into yet another shitty situation perpetuated by American foreign policy. All contents 2023 The Slate Group LLC. Updated on March 16, 2022: Richard Simmons has remained withdrawn from the public eye, and that seems to be just how he likes it. On Nov. 4, 1979, outraged that the despised Shah had been admitted to the United States for medical care after fleeing the country, thousands of Iranians stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. She was angry enough now, he said, that she might turn us in to the local revolutionary committee, or komiteh. Devastating. Sahar doesnt take long to figure out that the six guests of the ambassadorwho never leave the houseare not ordinary guests. The landlord was trying to sell the house, so she had to contend with him and with visits from potential buyers. She only appears during Season 1 and her absence is not mentioned or explained until Season 9, when, due to the return of members of The Church of Apollo, Mrs McCarthy mentions that she ran off with a Buddhist after her ordeal with them. There's nothing more a Canadian can say after the president says it. Powered by Reelgood. But this film knew what it was about, and had a good handle on the complexity of the situation. Another gut check. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. The Staffords went to the Taylor residence. Make sure you give me enough time to clean everything properly . In the email, he said the dispute doesn't reflect on Affleck's skills as a director and wished him luck on Sunday. In the end, I have only myself to blame. It never came to thatand John Sheardown may well be the indispensable reason why. They know that six American are missing. In one of them, we would pose as businesspeople, in something petroleum-related, if I remember correctly. South Carolina state police on Tuesday released the 911 call, from 2018, of Maggie reporting that her family's housekeeper had fallen and was badly hurt. The Housekeeper: A twisted psychological thriller - Kindle edition by Barelli, Natalie. I know a few folks whose parents lived in Iran before the revolution, and mapping their experiences onto the ones presented in the film was interesting. Like, isnt it weird that the CIA first trained Osama bin Laden and so its maybe not so heroic when, later, they take him out, since they sort of helped make him in the first place? While he no longer appears on television or at major public events, all reports and indications suggest that is he safe and healthy and simply living his life in peace. The discussion should include criticisms of the film as historical fiction if the audience takes it to be the definitive story of the hostage crisis because it focuses on the rescue of six diplomats taking the focus away from more important issues such as the reason for Iranian hostility to the U.S. and the plight of the 52 hostages held at the embassy. Tony Mendez, the former CIA officer who rescued six American diplomats from revolutionary Iran in 1980, died Saturday. The role of Sahar is played by Sheila Vand, a young Iranian-American actress. Could I have survived three months under the stressful conditions depicted in the film? Taylor's wife, Pat, said Ken died Thursday after. What is ninety-nine per cent of two hundred? Evaluate how accurately the actors in the film portrayed the characters who were actually involved in the events themselves. Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins. 2. Like others, I was also disappointed that a Hispanic actor didnt play the part of an actual Hispanic historical figure. Note: The film focuses on the good fortune of six American diplomats who escaped the 1979 take-over of the U.S. embassy in Tehran by Iranian militants. The backdrop of the tale is the 1979 storming of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran by Islamic militants who captured 52 American diplomatic personnel and held them hostage for 444 days. Argo (2012) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. In what way did this information influence your attitude toward both the revolutionaries and the diplomats? But if you were Iranian, well good luck. Sixty. Another alternative is to have all students read Bermans article and give students Assignment #1, below. She called that aspect of her role particularly meaningfulinterspersed with archival footage and illustrations, these moments detail a rising enmity between the US and Iran. When I saw the first trailer for Argo, I guffawed at the implausibility of the entire movie. I think it captured a lot of the fear and chaos at the time and importantly, not just the fear and chaos for Americans, but for the Iranians themselves. The Arab-terrorists-chasing-planes-waving-guns thing was over the top even for them, tho). Among the new additions are memories of the Oct. 4 opening screening of "Argo" at the Sam Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, Calif. Lastly, the plan allowed the six of us to travel as a group, and support each other. Etc. The boat sinks! The Staffords recall an embassy meeting to talk about local repercussions from the decision to let the shah come to the U.S. for medical care. Sheardown died on Dec. 30, and his wife, Zena, called the movie disappointing. Affleck flew Taylor to Los Angeles after the Toronto debut and allowed him to insert a postscript that gave Canada some credit. 2013 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Who makes the plaid blue coat Jesse stone wears in Sea Change? 2013-09-08 02:15:26. In my opinion, despite its big Hollywood stars and breathtaking cinematography, the historic lesson would be all but lost if it werent for the films most minor and most easily overlooked character: the Iranian maid. But knowing that this is what sold the cover story to the houseguests in the first place. But holy crap, crazy). Now, lets not pretend this film doesnt have Issues. Housekeeping refers to managing all the duties that go into running a home. He suggested we move to another house nearby, whose occupant he also worked for. Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted. It doesnt hurt that it was extraordinarily well-written sometimes I forget Ben Affleck co-wrote an Academy-winning screenplay. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser. In addition to websites which may be linked in the Guide and selected film reviews listed on the Movie Review Query Engine, the following resources were consulted in the preparation of this Learning Guide: This is Learning Guide was written by James Frieden with assistance from Mary RedClay. Did they go out thinking, Man, America should stop doing stupid things so it doesnt have to create crazy mad movie plots to rescue people? This is the side of Iran that Americans need to see, particularly in a film depicting a CIA intervention in Iran. And they were right to be: While the movie presents myriad dramatic complications and last-minute twists and turns, the plan actually went off without a hitch. Justify your conclusion. Sahar about broke my heart. Ellen Penketh, whose time as housekeeper at Erddig Hall, north Wales, ended in scandalous circumstances. How do the Iranians let us go and still save face? John took us upstairs and introduced us to a younger man named Taylor, who I assumed was his assistant. For those reasons, the timing of this films release gives its content, and the politics it conveys, that much more weight and importance. The camera zooms close to her frightened eyes, we watch her hesitate for a fraction of a second before she decides to cover for them. But the 78-year-old Taylor added that given what's happened in the last few months, "I'm not necessarily anticipating anything.". He said CIA agent Tony Mendez, played by Affleck in the film, was only in Iran for a day and a half. It . Finally, he asks here how long the guests have been staying with the ambassador. Our Canadian hosts kept us confident and comfortable, and the plan hatched by Mendez worked even better than Argo suggests. Im a friend of Iran, I would say, and many of them believed me. Which is not to say that our situation was without real-life dramajust that most of it happened before Mendez arrived. Argo is a 2012 American historical drama thriller film directed, produced by and starring Ben Affleck.The screenplay, written by Chris Terrio, was adapted from the 1999 memoir The Master of Disguise by U.S. Central Intelligence Agency operative Tony Mendez, and the 2007 Wired article "The Great Escape: How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran" by Joshuah Bearman. A Twisted Psychological Thriller. (If students are assigned to report on the accuracy of the film, have them read, before they see the movie, Joshua Bermans WIRED article entitled How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans From Tehran or Mr. Mendez book, Argo How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History.) (The filmmakers took some liberties with the facts, Mr . Publicist: Adrienne Barbeau . Lester's Housekeeper: Michael Parks . I've registered it now for six months and President Jimmy Carter's remarks back it. This house was on a corner and hugged the sidewalk on two sides. Quote sources, such as Jimmy Carter, and various news outlets that gained access to the story, details of which were made public in 1997. The 66 other diplomats were subsequently held hostage for 444 days, while these lucky six made it to the residence of the Canadian ambassador to Iran, Ken Taylor, where they secretly lived for 79 days before they were effectively rescued with the help of the CIA, using the most unlikely cover story of being in Iran to scout out the location for a Canadian film project. They said it was treated as routine on both ends both by the people who gave them the orders and by the Iranians and Iraqis who signed for the weapons on the other end. At first, she doesnt know who they are or that they are in hiding, but she eventually begins to wonder why they never leave the house, puts two and two together, and figures out just how deeply in trouble they are. He had a key. Argo How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History, by Antonio Mendez and Matt Baglio, Viking, 2012, page 298. If youve read and enjoyed my work for free whether thats the musings here on the blog, guest posts elsewhere, or through various free fiction sites, its now easier than ever to donate to support this work, either with a one-time contribution via PayPal, or via a monthly Patreon contribution: Kameron Hurley is the award-winning author ofThe Light Brigade,The Stars are Legionand the essay collectionThe Geek Feminist Revolution. "I would hope he would. So for days we had put off accepting Johns offer. Age: 14+; MPAA Rating R for language and some violent images; Film Study Worksheet for a Work of Historical Fiction, Discussion Questions for Use With any Film that is a Work of Fiction, Discussion Questions Relating to Ethical Issues, Assignments, Projects, and Activities for Use With any Film that is a Work of Fiction, How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans From Tehran. Argus Filch was a Squib and the caretaker of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry since around 1973.
what happened to the housekeeper in argo
what happened to the housekeeper in argo
