The sudden and swift exchange of spies between two nations in the midst of a politely tense diplomatic dance – as the US and Russia have been in – is no accident, say spy novelists, ex-spies, and government officials.
“The spy is one of the most potent figures of the imagination,” says author Steve Berry, president of International Thriller Writers. “They live in a world of deep personal conflict, wrestling with betraying everyone and everything they know and love just by doing their job. And so they are a perfect figure to hang these large stories of nations in conflict on.”
Every generation in history has put forth its own version of the vital information-gathering agent for popular consumption, he adds. “James Bond was the perfect cold warrior, but that genre pretty much died in 1990 and 1991 when the Soviet Union fell.” Since then, he adds, “We’ve all been developing the international thriller.”
When spies become news, there is often a disparity between real-life espionage and the images spun by popular film and fiction.
“Hollywood pushes and exaggerates all the things that make a spy compelling,” says Mr. Berry. All the tools of the trade, from the cool gadgets to the personal ability to live a double life with charm and ease, make for great stories and form our expectations.
Spies can come in handy when things go wrong behind the doors of international relations, says Michael Diaz, an assistant state attorney in the Clinton administration.
No related posts.
Comments
No Responses to “Russian spies: Hollywood’s version vs. real-life espionage”