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Secrets
By Scott Harrup | February 22, 2008
A few weeks back I spent some down time watching a DVD of The Company, the TNT mini-series based on the book of the same name by Robert Littell. The story follows about 40 years in the lives of a mix of characters — some historical, others fictional — during the Cold War.
I enjoy novels and films on the subject of espionage, and The Company focuses on the CIA. The film convincingly portrays real events — the unmasking of British double agent Kim Philby, international tensions in a divided Berlin, Hungary’s crushed revolution, the Bay of Pigs debacle in Cuba. Fictional characters allow for fascinating in-depth treatment of subjects that must remain classified to average citizens such as myself.
And that’s where I note a paradox.
Littell did his homework. His research produced a 900-page book that garnered high praise four years before the film was made. He has been called America’s John Le Carré. While Littell reported on the Cold War extensively for Newsweek before turning to novel writing, however, he was never an employee of the CIA or any other espionage agency.
Littell’s research gives him enough material to lend an air of authenticity to his story. Yet the very nature of the clandestine operations he describes means that no amount of research can bring to light many of the actual events. Had Littell served with the CIA, “the Company,” he would not be at liberty to discuss the details of his assignments with the public.
In a sense, The Company and other best-sellers dealing with modern espionage act as parables. The struggle to preserve a free society against totalitarian governments, the challenge of protecting a nation you love while hiding so much of yourself from loved ones, the very real and extended drudgery that far outweighs any brief flashes of glory — these are general principles true to life portrayed in fictional plots.
This is a key function of good writing true of most genres. Even science fiction and horror are able to shed light on life in ways that sometimes surpass a strictly factual account.
My fiction reading and my own life as a writer color how I perceive another set of parables — the ones with a capital P spoken by the greatest Storyteller of all. He could boil down concepts like faith and righteousness and the kingdom of God to things like mustard seeds, wedding garments and hidden treasure.
Trying to understand and live by the truths found within that body of work will consume my lifetime, and enrich my life immeasurably.
Perhaps you’ve discovered that for yourself.
Topics: Books and Films, History |
February 22nd, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Jesus certainly had a way with words. As a writer myself, I am always amazed at His succinct and to the point words that millions remember, read and apply 2,000 years later. I’d be happy if even a few thousand read what I’ve written.
February 27th, 2008 at 11:57 am
I haven’t seen The Company, Scott, but your blog stirred the uneasiness I feel when I read of the clandestine activities of these “protectors of all that’s right and good.”
I guess it’s my nonviolence leanings, but the notion of a whole shady world existing to protect us in the glorious sunlight is troublesome. For there is no doubt that deceit is the very least of questionable tools they use.
But then I think of the TV program that shows the trapping of would-be sex offenders. These guys are led on by younger types pretending to be interested in a liaison that ends up with the sex-seeker walking into a trap. I find myself applauding their apprehension, yet still feeling a bit troubled at the tool.