Joshua's Blog

Bridge of Spies is a film about the 1960's spy exchange in which a Soviet spy, Rudolf Abel, was traded for an American pilot, Francis Gary Powers. The movie shows an important dynamic between two nations that had the highest tensions in modern history. The movie does a fantastic job of portraying the chaos and confusion of the political climate and gives the feeling of uncertainty which defined that era. This is the most important knowledge of the film is how it shows the importance of nationalism and dehumanization of the two nations. The film shows the irony in believing that our nations spies are heroes whereas spies from another country are evil. This help illustrate the feeling a dangerous political climate where every person is either an ally or an enemy. A scene which exemplifies this feeling is when Donovan goes to meet Mr.Vogel and is instead met with a Soviet ambassador. During the negotiation where the ambassador tells him that they are all just 'little men' tr

A large american breakfast which both references the 1960 american culture and a scene in the movie where Donovan orders 2 large breakfasts  Kofta which are Turkish meatballs. central berlin had a large amount of people with Turkish ethnicity in which the wall separated the culture down its center  Made by Herta Heuwer in 1949 made to combine the sectors of west Berlin. German sausage, american ketchup, and British curry powder.

An art Exhibit featuring paintings by Rudolf Abel A 1990 commemorative stamp of Abel  A 'Suicide dollar' given to U-2 Pilots  Panels of the Berlin Wall The hotline used by Donovan as the only direct connection between east and west berlin The evidence obtained from the search of Rudolf Abel's apartment which caused controversy of on lawful search and seizure A U-2 of the same model flown by Gary Powers Donovan's passport he used to cross between east and west Berlin

The invitations will be sent out to each person in the form of a passport with a note written on the inside telling the the time and place they will meet. the time is 5:30 to 8:52 February 10 because 5:30 is the time the deal was scheduled to take place and 8:52 is when exchange commenced. Each person will get a passport appropriate to them for example Donovan would receive an american passport as seen above. Whereas Vogel would receive a GDR passport with instructions saying "East Berlin/5:30-8:52...) Guest list: Donovan James Donovan was the protagonist of this film and considered in real life to be an american hero. Easing tensions between the east a west. This was short lived however as the Cuban missile crisis escalated tensions to an all time high. Abel Abel was, as the film states, the most hated man in america. His fierce loyalty to his country nearly lead him to his death and his court case challenged american values and criminal process with his court case bein

Office of the Historian (history.state.gov) U-2 Overflights and the Capture of Francis Gary Powers, 1960  - Information on crash, recovery, and trial of Francis Gary Powers Two coats of paint (twocoatsofpaint.com) Art and Film: Painter-Spy in Bridge of Spies - Information on Abel and his paintings Oyez (oyez.org) Abel vs. United States - information on the supreme court ruling of the Abel vs. US

The freedom riders were groups of college students from Washington D.C. and Nashville who brought the segregation and mistreatment of Americans in the south into national and international news. The movement was extremely successful in attaining national involvement in fixing the racial tension in the south. This movements success and importance has not always been given the recognition which it and its members deserve. My design for a Freedom Riders Memorial in the Montgomery fountain would have the fountain replaced by a grass field of the same dimensions with a 25 foot radius. A road would run through the center of the monument pointing North. A Scenicruiser bus, the same model as the bus in the Anniston riot, would be on the road facing south with its seats removed. The tires of the bus would be slashed just as they were in Anniston. The windows of the bus would be tented making it difficult to see in and out of the bus. However, the back widow of the buss would be shattered. Thi