Cast
members of the movie Argo have won
many Oscars for their performances as the American hostages. The hostages are
the escaping underdogs in a bloodthirsty nation. In the time frame of this
movie, Iranian students were holding around fifty Americans hostage, which made
all Iranians public enemy number one. In the beginning of the movie, director
Ben Affleck as Tony Mendez, emphasizes the ignorance that government officials
show towards Middle Eastern countries. He humanizes the enemy, by finding
common ground. What is one thing that all humans understand? According to
Affleck, it’s Hollywood: movie making. However, as the film progresses and the
concept of a movie, taking place in Iran becomes reality, the East becomes
noticeably juxtaposed with the West.
In
the beginning of the film, when the CIA is just deciding on how to save these
six hostages, they start discussing their best ideas. Their best idea is to
send the hostages bicycles to travel to the Turkish border after the weather
clears up. A ridiculous feat considering that there is snow on the ground, and
the journey is 300 miles—300 miles with no cover of security. The men in this
room all agree on this idea except Tony Mendez, who knows that the Iranians
will realize that six people are missing before there is any chance of weather
clearing up. He distinctly points out the ignorance of the members of the CIA,
and what their perception of Iran is. All these men seem to know about the
Iranians is that they are looking to kill Americans; they are the face of
terrorism at this point. They have a certain depiction of what the Middle East
is like, but they’re just making assumptions. It’s a classic case of Said’s
Orientalism. Mendez has thought of a different approach however, because “they
understand media. They’re not monkeys. The same men you see holding guns have
cousins selling eight tracks on the street.” Instead of making assumptions
about Iranian culture, Mendez convinces the men to focus on something that is
universal: media.
At
this time, all American news stations were giving updates on the hostage
situation in Iran. In Argo, many of the scene’s transitions were done by a showing
of clips from news stations, reporting on the hostage crisis as it was
happening. Said alluded to this same happening in the article “Islam As News;” the
media in America created the image of the terrorist[1].
They showed angry men with beards and guns, much like the opening scene of Argo
shows the angry men chanting “Death to America!” However, the idea of media
also helped to get the plan to work. Perhaps the hostages were held so long
because it kept America’s attention for so long. While watching a broadcast of
a hostage update John Chambers says, “Do you ever think this is all for the
screen?” They know how much the West covets their media, and suddenly the East
has taken over that.
Filming
a movie for an exotic land in the Middle East is not a new concept, so it was
the perfect disguise. The ideas for movies were a constant flow when Mendez
asked John Chambers for his help. Once Chambers had agreed there began the
process of choosing a script that would be popular enough to be convincing.
They are looking for a movie that would make sense to shoot in the Middle East,
which is stereotyping the Orient already. Lester Siegel, the producer for the
fake film shoots down a suggestion of The
Horses of Achilles, because nobody shoots Westerns anymore. The West is old
news; it’s all about the exotic places. It doesn’t matter what the movie is
about, the fact that it has horses in it mean people associate it with a
Western film. It is a simple statement that shows exactly how susceptible
Americans are to stereotyping. We have this depiction of what a terrorist looks
like because he’s from a different country and plants a bomb in a big city, but
a white man who kills over 30 kindergarteners is labeled as insane. However, when
Mendez reads the first words of the script for Argo: “fade in on a starship
landing. An exotic middle eastern vibe,” it seems as though the perfect fit.
Where better to shoot a movie about a fantasy than a country that is so
mysterious to Americans. When Hollywood’s Middle East comes to mind, people
think of the Orient stereotypes: men with beards, tan skin, magic carpets,
something along the lines of Aladdin’s home. Somehow this country makes for the
perfect location to shoot a movie about aliens and women offering goods—or
possibly themselves—up to the gods. At this point in the movie, Affleck’s
character is no longer trying to humanize the people of Iran, but instead use
America’s perception of this otherness that we know nothing about, to trick us
all into believing there will be a movie.
Argo
is a story about saving Americans, but also a story about tricking the Iranian
nation. It turns into a story about
America, the great superpower, pulling one over on Iran. The image of the
stereotypical terrorist is ever present throughout the film, and that of the
classic Eastern Orient. Although it’s an exciting story, it’s an inaccurate
depiction of all Iranian citizens.
[1] Said, Edward W..
"Islam As News." Covering Islam. London: Routledge & Kegan
Paul, 1981. 169-194. Print.
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