Karyna Caal

"Bridge of Spies: The True Story of Soviet-American Relations"

There is a recurring theme in Hollywood films that embodies the antagonistic relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union. In American popular culture films, Russians are portrayed as spies or mafia members to characterize them as corrupt beings. An example of this can be seen in the film Bridge of Spies (2015) directed by Steven Spielberg. The film follows a true event that occurred in 1957. The film takes place during the Cold War, and it begins when an American insurance lawyer, James Donovan, is hired to represent an accused Soviet spy, Rudolf Abel, in court, and then assists the CIA in facilitating the spy's exchange for the Soviet captured American U2 espionage plane pilot Francis Gary Powers. Even though the film is set in 1957, it is a contemporary portrayal of the genuine story with the aim of capturing the same factual veracity of the original story while adding dramatic flair that does not distort but affirms American ideals. As a result, the film seeks to portray Russians as morally reprehensible in the eyes of American culture. Furthermore, there are several depictions of Russian Rudolf Abel in this film, all with the goal of demonstrating that Russians are malevolent and inferior to Americans.

President Ronald Reagan's "Evil Empire" address, delivered to the National Association of Evangelicals on March 8, 1983, during the Cold War, is one of the most famous speeches in American political history. In this address, Reagan characterized the Soviet Union as an evil empire and as "the focus of evil in the modern world.” Although these specific pieces of historical evidence occurred 20 years after the true story, they are especially relevant to the context of the film because they assert the idea that Americans viewed Russians as a wicked populous, with even the US President going so far as to call Russia a "Evil Empire.” The film Bridge of Spies effectively portrays American perceptions that Russians are evil people with the evil motives of attacking the United States with nuclear weapons. For instance, in the film, Donovan’s wife says: “People are scared. They’re building bomb shelters to protect themselves from people like this man. I go to the store; people are buying canned food and potassium tablets. It’s all about this man and what he represents. He’s a threat to all of us. A traitor.” This comment reveals that all Americans are frightened of nuclear war, and that many Americans believe Rudolf is a malicious spy who is helping the Soviet Union learn about nuclear weapons and will use this newly acquired knowledge to harm their livelihoods.

Throughout the late 20th century, the USSR was predominantly viewed as militarily powerful, global rival of the United States. The subsequent competition for superior military power brought in a period of espionage, battles over communism's rise, and the development of nuclear weapons that threatened global devastation. The US was constantly under pressure to demonstrate its dominance over the Soviet Union, fearful that the Soviet Union would grow into a larger superpower and use that strength to spread communism throughout the world. Bridge of Spies highlights the United States' confidence in its moral superiority over the Soviet Union because American characters are depicted as morally superior throughout the film, while Soviet characters are depicted as morally inferior. For example, when Donovan's supervisor tells him that the US has chosen him to represent Rudolf in court, he says “The Bar Association asked me because they want to show that even a spy gets a capable advocate” (15:41-15:47). This sequence demonstrates that the US government wanted to show the world that, even though they had identified a Soviet spy with ill intent in their nation, they were willing to grant him a fair trial, indicating that the US is a superior country.