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Lizz Hyde
Dr. Zalar
A Global History of WWII
15 September 2015
The Imitation Game
After two years of meticulous and repetitive work, on July 9, 1941 Alan Turing and his
colleagues cracked the unbreakable German enigma code used to send critical wartime
messages. Historians estimate that breaking Enigma shortened the war by more than two years
and saved over fourteen million lives. The work Turing and his colleagues completed during
their time at Bletchley Park was momentous for not only the British military, but also modern
day computers. The Oscar winning film The Imitation Game (2014) directed by Morten Tyldum
and written by Graham Moore tells the story of Alan Turing at Bletchley Park as he and his
colleagues worked together to solve unbreakable Nazi enigma machine.
The film begins with Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) sitting in an interrogation
room with Detective Nock (Rory Kinear), almost ten years after the war has ended, as he
proceeds to tell the story of his experience as a cryptologist under a secret British intelligence
agency. Turings journey commences when he is tasked with breaking enigma along with a team
of cryptologists and linguists including Hugh Alexander (Matthew Goode), John Cairncross
(Allen Leech), and Peter Hilton (Matthew Beard). Turing quickly secludes himself and accuses
the others of slowing him down. However, his new friend Joan Clarke (Kiera Knightly)
encourages Turing to befriend the other team members in order for their help in finishing his
enigma-breaking machine named after his first love, Christopher. After two years and some
dramatized Hollywood action, Turing and his team members decode their first enigma message.

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Throughout the film, there are flashbacks to Turings childhood and his relationship with
Christopher Morcom (Jack Bannon). In addition, the film refers back to the conflict between
Turing and Detective Nock, which is later known to be Turings arrest for suspicion of being a
Soviet spy. Although Turing is not a Soviet spy, he is convicted of indecency, or being a
homosexual, which is illegal during this time. The film concludes with Turings days undergoing
chemical castration in order to lower his libido and cure him. During the final scene of the
movie, all of the Bletchley enigma cryptographers burn the evidence of their secret work during
the war, signaling not only the end of the film, but also their time together.
Although The Imitation Game is based on a true story, there are some historical
inaccuracies throughout the film, some being more significant than others. For example,
Detective Robert Nock is an entirely fictional character created as a catalyst to engage Turings
recollection of Bletchley Park and to also connect his arrest to the rest of the film. Similarly,
John Cairncross was indeed a soviet spy working in Bletchley Park, however it was unlikely that
he and Turing ever crossed paths considering the strict separation between the multiple sections.
One of the most frequently criticized inaccuracies occurred when Turing was accused of, or
investigated for, acting as a Soviet spy. In the film, he was accused once during his time at
Bletchley and again after the break-in at his home, however Turning was never actually accused
of this. A minor change, included for a dramatic element, was the renaming of Turings machine
from Bombe (based off of the name of the Polish machine) to Christopher. The creation of
the machine portrayed in the film also strays from historic truth. Contrary to the films depiction
of Turing working endlessly to create Christopher without the help of his colleagues, in reality
Turing collaborated closely with Gordon Welchman, who is not even mentioned in the film, to
create the Enigma decoding machine. Finally, Stewart Menzies (Mark Strong), who is the head

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of the secret intelligence MI6, decided what percentage of gathered intelligence should be passed
along to the Allies, not Turing as the film depicted.
Just as any historically influenced Hollywood drama would include inaccuracies, there
was much more definiteness throughout the film. There is a scene where Turing is seen running,
for what seems to be, a long distance and in reality Turing frequently ran marathons. This scene
incorporates a large aspect of Turings life into a discrete detail. In addition, although the feelings
between Turing and Morcom were not mutual as the film implies, Morcom did pass away
suddenly of bovine tuberculosis leaving an everlasting impression on Turing. Moreover, Turing
and Clarke maintained a close relationship and were in fact engaged for a short period of time.
Clarke was aware of his sexuality earlier than the movie suggests, but they shared strong feelings
for each other. Surprisingly to a modern audience, Turing was indeed put on trail for indecency
and was required to endure chemical castration instead of going to jail. Turing and a 19-year-old
boy named Arnold Murray were having relations when Murray broke into his home. Because of
the break-in, Turing was forced to expose his sexuality which stimulated his trial. Murray is
briefly shown in the film and the situation is understated because of the initial spy accusation.
Another inconspicuous moment in the film occurs when Turing was traveling to his interview at
Bletchley Park and the train station was overcrowded with children. This scene is a reference to
Operation Pied Piper, or in other words, the evacuation of children from urban centers to the
rural countryside as a result of the Luftwaffe bombings.
The Imitation Game portrays the war from a unique behind the scenes perspective. The
film specifically focuses on the life of Allen Turing and the race against time to break enigma
rather than the war as a whole. The Bletchley workers seem to have a greatly different point of
view, with regards to the war, than the rest of the country. Their viewpoints look through a

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mathematical lens, that is to say the war is an equation and breaking enigma is the variable
needed to solve the equation, or win the war. While the rest of Britain was worried about food
rations and bombings, Turing and his team members were focused on solving the puzzle. When
the word war is mentioned, soldiers, fighting, and destruction come to mind, however The
Imitation Game introduces a new insight of considering war from a less traditional perspective.
The behind the scenes interpretation can also be compared to the divergent viewpoint of the
United States. With relatively low casualties compared to other nations and battles that never
touched the mainland, the United States remembers the war far differently than its European
counterparts. Regardless, it is important to evaluate from multiple perspectives to gain a clear
understanding of the infinite dimensions of the war.
The Bletchley cryptologists not only thought of the war as an equation, but also as a
puzzle. Although Turing was not actually a routine crossword puzzle solver, the reoccurring
theme regarding puzzles is a metaphor for warfare. The enigma machine is often referred to as a
puzzle, implying that warfare can also be viewed as a sort of puzzle. During a war, a countrys
leaders and generals are expected to learn its opponents strategy and predict its actions. This
mindset towards war is necessary in order to successfully defeat an opponent. In fact, Germanys
loss in Britain, commonly referred to as The Battle of Britain, can be partially credited towards
Germanys lack of strategy. Referring back to the film, viewing puzzles as a metaphor for
warfare explains why Hugh Alexander, a mathematician and national chess champion, was
chosen to work for Bletchley. Solving enigma required not only mathematical genius, but also
strategic genius as well.
In order to solve a puzzle, the thought process used must be entirely unconventional. For
example, Turing was the first Bletchley cryptographer to suggest that only a machine can defeat

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another machine and pursued his aspiration regardless of the doubts presented by Commander
Denniston. Turings idea was inspired by the Polish machine designed to decode enigma,
however Turing expanded the Polish predecessor with hopes of creating a universal machine.
Little did Turing know his machine design would one day lay the foundation for modern day
computers. The motif of machines throughout the film signifies the Second World Wars creation
of the modern war era. During WWI, the common military tactic of trench warfare resulted in
death, disease, and ultimately, stalemate. On the other hand, WWII introduced technological
progression including u-boats, long-range bombs and most importantly nuclear weapons. Just as
Turings Christopher machine changed the face of the war, the technological transformation as
a result of the war changed the world.
When Turing proposed his design for a machine that would break enigma, his colleagues
were reluctant to explore an unfamiliar territory and continued trying to decode enigma by hand.
Commander Denniston emphasized the importance of traditional concepts such as order,
discipline, and chain of command to Turing but solving enigma required just the opposite. As
with any film set in a different time period, the concept old versus new is almost guaranteed to
play a role in creating perspective. Some examples are more obvious than others such as the
clothing and language, while others are discretely introduced such as Clarkes strong concern
with being unmarried at the age of twenty-five. The old-fashioned notions presented in the film
versus the contemporary actions introduced by Turing signal the transition into the modern
world, just as the machines signal the transition into the modern war era. Turings inadvertent
work as an apostle of innovation with his disengaging problem-solving tactics and high personal
standards can be considered the forerunner for generative companies such as Disney, Apple and
Google.

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In addition to the old versus new notions with regards to technology, The Imitation Game
also explores the more social concept of homosexuality. Despite Turing being open about his
sexuality in reality, the film proceeds to portray Turing as insecure towards his sexuality and is
only openly mentioned a handful of times. The hesitant portrayal in the film was created to show
the difference in social convictions towards homosexuality during this time. Turings conviction
for indecency is so outdated, it almost seems hard to believe. Without the tone of insecurity
towards homosexuality, a contemporary viewer would have trouble understanding the degree of
disquietude this subject caused. As this particular social impression is making monumental leaps
in modern day society, an antiquated perspective of the issue is necessary to fully understand
Turings dispensable struggle.
The Imitation Game encompasses historical accuracies, challenging perspectives and
creative themes in a highly suspenseful and entertaining manner. However, to consider this film a
substantial historical text would be exceedingly inadequate. Considering the war as whole, or
even just the war in Britain, the film barely scratches the surface life during this formidable time
period. Granted the film is supposed to be specifically about Alan Turing and the Enigma
machine, an analysis proves that a particular amount of significant facts and events were either
omitted or revised to create an Oscar winning film. Therefore, a better choice for accurate and
fulfilling information regarding Turing would be the book that inspired the film, Alan Turing:
The Enigma written by Andrew Hodges. Nevertheless, The Imitation Game was successful in
takings its viewers back in time to a much lesser known battle during the Second World War, a
battle between the Bletchley Park cryptographers, the German Enigma machine and time.