Codes behind the codes
Two interesting documentaries on TV today. Well, perhaps not exactly that simple. Let’s correct things, and go with a filmed view of a situation that is open to interpretation.
First up, something from the world of HBO, called Going Clear. An interpretation of the social character of a particular organization. Corporation, perhaps. The group in question tends to use the court system to maintain their presentation of the subject, so I expect this program to disappear from view in short order. Having seen it, the story presented is coherent with other tales I’ve read along the way. My screen was already up; this may raise the same protection with others.
Later in the day, an unscheduled screening of The Imitation Game from this years’ Oscar bounty. History, whether fact or fiction, is difficult to present without bias. I rather enjoyed this look behind the screen (figurative, not literal) of the intelligence required to “win” the war. Let the record show that wars are rarely won.
I’ve already taken the time to read the simple facts behind Enigma, and Ultra, and Bletchley Park. Whether the storyline of the movie is close to the real tale, the effort to solve and then obscure the approach to a really important puzzle is worth watching. The facts may never be known, entirely. That’s the nature of the beast. I’m content to have some visual baggage. My only regret: less Morse than I’d hoped. After all, the war depended on code that people listened to and interpreted; there were no machines for that part of the game. And if a mechanical computer allowed the reduction of too many facts to something of use, then so much the better.
