15-03-2009, 03:23 PM
Jan Klimkowski Wrote:The Bay of Pigs storyline in The Good Shepherd is posited on the notion that a mole betrayed the timing of the invasion. For dramatic reasons, this "mole" turns out to be the Damon/Angleton character's son, presenting Damon with ultimate moral choices.
The moral dilemma is fine... as drama. Its supposed historical context cannot be other than rubbish... as history.
Jan,
Your criticism of the use of the Bay of Pigs by the writer of The Good Shepherd is right-on. I'd say the story line represents reckless disregard not only for literal truth, but for the long-term consequences of such an act.
That the April, 1961 invasion was a "perfect failure" is beyond reasonable doubt. Not to split hairs, but the operation was NOT blown; it was designed to crash and burn, and giving advance notice to certain elements within the Cuban and Soviet deep political structures was simply part of the design.
To be even more accurate: Those elements likely were involved in operational planning.
Given what TGS alleges, the film stands as enemy propaganda. A better-informed, more gifted, less compromised writer would have known the truth and not sacrificed it on the altar of dramatic expediency.
To be absurdly generous, the character of "Angleton's" son may represent the part of his psyche that drove his own double game ...
But conducting such analysis, I'm afraid, to quote the Senator Long character in JFK, is best likened to digging gnat shit out of pepper.