Argo: hostage crisis movie

Column by Haley Austin

Austin is a sophomore creative advertising major and can be reached at haley.austin@drake.edu

I’d venture to say most of you have heard of the Iranian Hostage Crisis. If you haven’t, go read the history textbook that is currently collecting dust in your dorm room.

Anyway, the movie “Argo” is all about said hostage crisis, but with a twist. The majority of the American embassy workers in Iran were taken hostage when Iranian revolutionaries overtook the embassy in 1979. Somehow, six embassy workers were able to escape the embassy without the revolutionaries noticing.

These six embassy workers fled to the Canadian ambassador’s house and lived there relatively unnoticed for a few months. Once word got out to the CIA that there were six hidden embassy workers, the CIA went into action. During the time the six Americans were hidden, CIA agents tried to come up with realistic ways to get these six people out without being noticed.

A few hurdles were that these embassy workers couldn’t be American, couldn’t be teachers and couldn’t be reporters. Another hurdle was that travel during this time required certain documentation of when you showed up, whom you came with and when you were going home. You’d keep one copy and the airport would keep the other. That, my friends, is a wrench in the road if I’ve ever heard one.

Every option the CIA came up with was a bad option. The Argo option was the “best” bad option. The whole time I watched this movie, I was at the edge of my seat and my heart was racing.

Argo was originally a secret mission until President Clinton revealed what happened during his presidency. I won’t give away the whole plot, but this story, which is based on true events, is incredible. While I’m sure the studio took some creative liberties, “Argo’” seems like a historically accurate film. The actors look eerily similar to the real escaped embassy workers and the story line is easy to follow with a lot of close calls.

If you like “Zero Dark Thirty,” you’re sure to like “Argo.” If you live in America, you’re sure to like “Argo.” If you are an exchange student, you’re still going to like “Argo.” Go see it next Friday at 9 p.m. in Sussman Theatre. Redbox it when it comes out. Buy it. But really, anyone who sees this movie will love it.