THIRTEEN DAYS

Directed by:

Roger Donaldson

Thirteen days

Bruce Greenwood as

President John F. Kennedy

Kevin Costner as

Kenneth “Kenny” O’donell

OUTLINEFILM REVIEW

STORY FAST FACTS

PLOT DIAGRAM

EXPLORING THE FEATURE PRESENTATION Insights of Culture and

Subculture Leadership in Action Positive and Negative Instances Basic Decision Making Process Leading in Values with Moral

Courage

FILM REVIEW1. The television docudrama The Missiles of October (1974)

a. was based largely on Robert F. Kennedy’s book Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis (1971)

2. With the publication in 1997 of The Kennedy Tapes: Inside the White House During the Cuban Missile Crisis, edited by Ernest R. May and Philip

D. Zelikow, previous accounts have been revised.

Robert F. Kennedy Roger Donaldson

http://www.geocities.com/polfilms/thirteendays.html

FILM REVIEW3. The film Thirteen Days, directed by Roger Donaldson, is the

cinematic reworking of the events of October 1962, based on the May and Zelikow’s book.

Release date(s): December 25, 2000 Running time: 145 minutesCountry: United States Language: EnglishBudget:$80 million Box office: $66,579,890

4. Accordingly, the Political Film Society has nominated Thirteen Days as best exposé and won best film on peace for the year 2000.

http://www.geocities.com/polfilms/thirteendays.html

STORY FAST FACTS The Cuban Missile Crisis,' – known as the October Crisis' in Cuba and

the Caribbean Crisis in the USSR

was a thirteen-day confrontation between the Soviet Union and Cuba on one side and the United States on the other; the crisis occurred in October 1962, during the Cold War.

CIA reference photograph of Soviet R-12 intermediate-range nuclear ballistic missile (NATO designation SS-4) in Red Square, Moscow

In August 1962, after some unsuccessful operations by the US to overthrow the Cuban regime (Bay of Pigs), the Cuban and Soviet governments secretly began to build bases in Cuba for a number of medium-range and intermediate-range ballistic nuclear missiles (MRBMs and IRBMs) with the ability to strike most of the continental United States.Marfleet, B. Gregory. "The Operational Code of John F. Kennedy During the Cuban Missile

Crisis: A Comparison of Public and Private Rhetoric".

INTRODUCTION In October 1962, U-2 surveillance photos reveal that the Soviet Union is

in the process of placing missiles carrying nuclear weapons in Cuba (have the capability of wiping out

most of the Eastern and Southern US)

RISING ACTION The Joint Chiefs of Staff advise immediate

U.S. military strikes against the missile sites followed by an invasion of Cuba.

Kennedy is reluctant to attack and invade because it would very likely cause the

Soviets to invade Berlin.

PLOT

CLIMAX They settle on a step less than a blockade, which is formally regarded as an act of war.

They settle on what they publicly describe as a quarantine. Soviets offer to remove the missiles in exchange for the U.S. that it will never invade

Cuba and involving removal of its Jupiter missiles from Turkey. Several wrong steps were done from the US: the defense readiness level of Strategic

Air Command (SAC) is raised to DEFCON 2 (one step shy of maximum readiness for imminent war), without informing the President; and a routine test launch of a U.S.

offensive missile is also carried out without the President's knowledge.

RESOLUTION JFK secretly agrees to remove all Jupiter

missiles from southern Italy and in Turkey, in exchange for Khrushchev removing all

missiles in Cuba. Off the shores of Cuba, the Soviet ships

turn back from the quarantine lines.

FALLING ACTION JFK and his inner circle struggle to

rein those who would take unilateral action

communicates with the Soviet leadership and provide them a face-

saving solution to their mutual dilemma.

Thirteen Days at Rotten Tomatoes

1.) Insights of subculture and culture in an organization.

In the film, having a strong culture in an organization enforces stability.

It will be easier for an organization to meet its goal if they hold on to a strong culture.

But strong-cultured organizations may somehow find it difficult to adapt to the fast-changing environment.

Thus, subcultures of strong-cultured organizations help strengthen its overall organizational culture by

providing the flexibility and awareness that a nation may normalize.

2.) What can you say about leadership? Give instances: positive and negative.

President John F. Kennedy

is a good leader :

strong values and effective principles

the one who provide direction to the

organization

To AVOID war, he came up with an

alternative and diplomatic solution

Thinks about his countrymen

In the film, President John F. Kennedy had:

strong values

he did not easily give in on what his generals want, which is war.

definitely stood on his beliefs that the USA takes diplomacy first over war.

POSITIVE

Still in the film, General LeMay’s decision:

wanting to go to war right away

was emotionally driven from what happened in the past, particularly the

“bays of the pigs”

NEGATIVE

3.) Basic decision making process as reference: summarize and present how the decision making

was practiced.

The problem was identified when a U2 plane

surveillance exercise, they discovered that the Soviet

placed a missile on Cuba.

President John F. Kennedy immediately ordered a

meeting with his generals and all the people who he

felt was vital in making a decision, like the secretary of

defence.

Step 1

Outline the problem

Step 2

Choose the people

Recognize how the Soviet works: “understands only

one language, action. and respects only one word,

force.”

Step 3

The best process

Destroying the bombs while they were not still

operational

An invasion was also considered (by force)

Put up international pressure over the Soviet through

the UN by exposing evidences of a missile in Cuba

(by diplomatic way)

Step4

Create the alternatives

Each options was distinguished and studied; and

generally considered all the consequences of the

alternatives.

Step 5

Define the values

Step 6

Analyze facts

After examining all of the alternatives, John F. Kennedy

agreed the U.S. public declaration and agreement to

never invade Cuba in order for the Soviet to dismantle

the missile in Cuba.

4.) Example of leading in values and moral courage.

In the film, President John F. Kennedy showed good leadership:

resulted to the most favourable outcome.

handled everything with good composure and strong values.

Regardless of his “staff” (generals & the congress) questioning his leadership, he remained true to what

he stood for and what the USA stands for.

JFK is a leader with principles and moral courage because of strong culture.

“I am the commander in chief of the United States, and I say when we go

to war!”

President John F. Kennedy