Reference no: EM133446064
Assignment:
Question 1
Explore this page of the National Security Archive.
CIA Confirms Role in 1953 Iran Coup (gwu.edu)
Based on the available documents (bottom of the website), answer these three questions:
You are NOT expected to read all the documents!! Skim through the write ups and look through some of the documents in order to answer the questions.
1. What kind of information is available on this website?
2. Looking at the documents, is all the information there? If you see redactions (i.e. things that have been blocked out or erased), can you figure out what kind of information was there before? (i.e. names, places, dates, etc.) Make sure you mention which document you looked at when giving examples.
3. What did you find interesting about looking at these CIA declassified documents? Did anything surprise you? Did you learn anything either about the Iran Coup or the activities of the CIA?
Question 2
Attached is a link to a news video about the Berlin Airlift in 1949. Not only does this video include original footage, but we can also see how Britain wanted the public to think about the event by how they present the information as well as what footage they chose to use.
Watch the video and answer the following questions:
1. What do you learn about the Berlin Airlift? Do you learn why it was needed?
2. Who was involved? Who is presented as the most important in the video?
3. What kinds of things were they transporting and how? For the how--why do you think they focus on certain parts of the footage more than others?
4. Think about the music. What kind of emotions does the music evoke? How does it change based on the footage? Give a specific example.
5. Think about the impact of a video like this on the public. How are the actions of the British and Americans depicted and for what purpose? What information was excluded and why do you think it was?
Question 3
Winston Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech is one of the most iconic speeches in the Cold War. Here you have a version of the speech that has been cut and edited for the news reel. Below the video, you will find a full transcript of the speech. The Sinews of Peace ('Iron Curtain Speech') - International Churchill Society (winstonchurchill.org)
As you may notice, the full transcript is significantly longer than the news reel version. First, watch the news reel version and answer:
1. Based on the excerpts shown in the video, what is your impression of the relationship between England and the US?
2. What is your impression of Churchill's opinion of the Soviet Union?
Then, examine the full transcript of the speech. Find one or two details (think bigger ideas) that were excluded from the video that either helps support OR contradicts your impression from the cut copy of the video. Do you think the cut copy remained true to the speech's message? Why or why not?
Note: the transcript is VERY long--look for the exclusion of bigger items or the addition of more examples. You can use the search function to take quotes from the news reel to track down where he says the video parts in the speech transcript to help you narrow down your search.