Documentary
Documentary...the cuban missilThe documentary that I viewed entitled, The Cuban Missile Crisis, brought about one of the most threatening times in United States History. Produced by Films For The Humanities Inc., the film shows how the USSR placed missiles on Cuban Soil, solely it seems for the benefit of themselves. Why missiles ended up on the small island of Cuba is far from a mystery, people know the truth and what it cost Cuba as a Nation. The story of the Cuban Missile Crisis is heard around the world, in perhaps many different versions, with many different endings and opinions. The effects of the Cuban Missile Crisis still continues to linger in our country today, with consequences of a poor decision making still being felt by Cuba.
The film shows the vast United States Military response, to the news of live Russian missile silos and manufacturing plants in Cuba. After obtaining Fidel Castro's approval, the Soviet Union worked quickly and secretly to build missile installations in Cuba. On October 16, 1962, President John Kennedy was shown reconnaissance photographs of Soviet missile installations under construction in Cuba. After seven days of guarded and intense debate in the United States administration, during which Soviet diplomats denied that installations for offensive missiles were being built in Cuba, President Kennedy, in a televised address on October 22, announced the discovery of the installations and proclaimed that any nuclear missile attack from Cuba would be regarded as an attack by the Soviet Union and would be responded to accordingly. He also imposed a naval quarantine on Cuba to prevent further Soviet shipments of offensive military weapons from arriving there. Kennedy said that, �Any ship found to have any weapons would be turned back.� This later became a prohibition of trade with Cuba.
During the crisis, the two sides exchanged many communications, both formal and "back channel." Khrushchev tried to assure Kennedy that there was nothing but peaceful intentions, but Kennedy didn�t care. He wanted the Missiles out of Cuba immediately. Talks between Kennedy and Khrushchev continued, with compromises and deals. On October 26, 1962, Khrushchev made a deal that if the United States promised not attack Cuba, then the missiles would be removed. Another one of the deals to Kennedy was if the United States dismantled its missiles in Turkey, then the USSR would dismantle its silos in Cuba. In the end, the Americans decided to honor the first deal and not attack Cuba. The missiles were removed.
The film was unique in its own way. Most of the footage was shot as it happened in the traditional black and white film of that time. The author does a remarkable job of capturing the insight of the political leaders involved. They�re views and attitudes seem so calm and collected, even though there is a major problem at hand. The footage of the...
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