I've spent a good portion of the last two months thinking more about unbreakable codes, WWII, and word puzzles. In fact, more time than I've ever spent with this particular subject before. It was really more accidental than planned that I happened to finish reading Neal Stephenson's "Cryptonomicon," a week before THE IMITATION GAME was released in my area. The book has sat on my shelf for nearly a year because I found it to be a bit intimidating at just over 1,100 pages but I've started leaving my book choices up to random selection. (I placed slips of paper with the titles of every book I own and have not read into a jar and when it comes time to pick a new book, I draw a slip from the jar.) So random selection and some somewhat slow reading due to the holidays, I got two heaping spoonfuls of code breaking and Alan Turing action and I'm now totally hooked.
I'm married to an amateur World War II scholar. The first movie we saw after moving in together was "Inglorious Basterds." Luckily for me, he's much more interested in all the behind-the-scenes work that was done during the war and all the technological breakthroughs than he is in actual boots on the ground stories. (Though we did see FURY which I can't really recommend and it is REALLY violent. It's an extremely well-made movie I never have to see again.) Due to his interest in the subject and my interest in Benedict Cumberbatch, THE IMITATION GAME was on our radar very early on. It was on the "Must See," list.
"Cryptonomicon," is a work of fiction based off the activities at Bletchley Park during WWII as well as the American WWII code breakers, the Japanese code creators and modern encryption and decryption specialists. While it is fiction, it is clear that the author did quite a bit of research. Though the book is quite long, and in some parts quite complicated, the story is wholly engrossing from beginning to end. I absolutely recommend that anyone with even the vaguest interest in cryptography should read this book. I have even been pushing it on my non-fiction loving husband and maybe one day he'll crack under the pressure.
If you are not at all familiar with the Enigma Code or the work that was done at Bletchley Park, "Cryptonomicon," is a good introduction to that world and the great deal of pressure these scientists and mathematicians were under. Because of their incredible code breaking skills, thousands of lives were saved. It is very rare in a war-type situation that the work of a small group of individuals has such vast impact on the outcome.
THE IMITATION GAME only focuses on the English code breakers in Bletchley Park where Alan Turing was inventing his code breaking machine which later became known as the computer. While this group of individuals and Turing specifically, were not the entirety of this story, and even large chunks of their own story were left out, they were a critical piece to the puzzle that broke the Enigma codes and halted the Axis powers. This was an incredibly well-made movie. Both Benedict Cumberbatch and Kiera Knightley deserve to win awards for their performances. I am always amazed by how well Cumberbatch can completely immerse himself in a character, leaving any part of his own personality undetectable. He was amazing. Even though how the story progresses and eventually tragically ends is well-known, it was incredibly touching and brought us to tears on more than one occasion. This is a movie that makes you want to read the book it was based from. (This book.) It makes it clear that there is so much more to the story and it makes you want to crave that knowledge.
In conclusion, whether you ingest these two products together or separately, I strongly suggest that you treat yourself to two fantastic examples of storytelling. Turing's is a story that needs to be told if only to prevent his fate from being bestowed upon others. A man who saved thousands should not have died as he did.
No comments:
Post a Comment