Wiki for Dr. McClurkens Courses

User Tools

Site Tools

Trace: • 329--week_2_questions_comments-2022 • 329--week_11_questions_comments-2018 • 329--week_3_questions_comments • 329--introduction_week_questions_comments_meme_posts-2020 • 329--week_14_questions_comments • 329--week_11_questions_comments • 329--week_12_questions_comments-2018
329:question:329--week_4_questions_comments-2020

Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

Link to this comparison view

Both sides previous revisionPrevious revision
Next revision		Previous revision
329:question:329--week_4_questions_comments-2020 [2020/09/17 12:20] – [IV.How does this movie work as a primary source about the time period in which it was made or the filmmakers?] 68.100.149.156329:question:329--week_4_questions_comments-2020 [2020/12/03 02:26] (current) – 108.28.13.102
Line 19: Line 19:
  
 While I do not think this movie can be considered a good secondary source for the Revolutionary War as a whole, I do think it does an excellent job of portraying how the war was fought in a relatively realistic manner. I was mostly impressed by the stance it took on guerrilla warfare. When I think back on learning about the American Revolution, teachers tend not to tell you about the grittier parts of the war. They mainly focus on the Continental Army and disregard everything else. Looking at the Revolution from the angle portrayed in the film was a nice touch. Though they never use the term "guerrilla warfare," it's plain to see that those are the tactics being employed. Benjamin Martin, while not a historical figure, is based mainly on the real-life Francis Marion, notoriously known as "The Swamp Fox." While he is considered a Revolutionary hero in South Carolina, Marion was no saint. He adapted the tactics used against him in the French and Indian War, observing how the Cherokees used the landscape to their advantage to hide and ambush unwitting patrols. Marion then used these same tactics to deal devastating blows to the British in the south. Due to the nature of the British being spread pretty thin the south, it is reasonable to assume that Marion's expertise in guerrilla warfare helped the local militias hold the south despite not being part of an organized military force.  While I do not think this movie can be considered a good secondary source for the Revolutionary War as a whole, I do think it does an excellent job of portraying how the war was fought in a relatively realistic manner. I was mostly impressed by the stance it took on guerrilla warfare. When I think back on learning about the American Revolution, teachers tend not to tell you about the grittier parts of the war. They mainly focus on the Continental Army and disregard everything else. Looking at the Revolution from the angle portrayed in the film was a nice touch. Though they never use the term "guerrilla warfare," it's plain to see that those are the tactics being employed. Benjamin Martin, while not a historical figure, is based mainly on the real-life Francis Marion, notoriously known as "The Swamp Fox." While he is considered a Revolutionary hero in South Carolina, Marion was no saint. He adapted the tactics used against him in the French and Indian War, observing how the Cherokees used the landscape to their advantage to hide and ambush unwitting patrols. Marion then used these same tactics to deal devastating blows to the British in the south. Due to the nature of the British being spread pretty thin the south, it is reasonable to assume that Marion's expertise in guerrilla warfare helped the local militias hold the south despite not being part of an organized military force. 
 +
 Crawford, Amy. “The Swamp Fox.” Smithsonian Magazine, June 30, 2007. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-swamp-fox-157330429/. -- Lyndsey Clark Crawford, Amy. “The Swamp Fox.” Smithsonian Magazine, June 30, 2007. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-swamp-fox-157330429/. -- Lyndsey Clark
  
Line 82: Line 83:
 Roland Emmerich, the director, is infamous for his massive set pieces and hundreds of hundreds of extras. Everything that happens in this movie is pretty typical of some of his other historical movies, such as Anonymous (2011), which is about the Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare. Explosions, random love interests, lots of dirt and blood, and a romanticized version of the past. -Madison Roberts Roland Emmerich, the director, is infamous for his massive set pieces and hundreds of hundreds of extras. Everything that happens in this movie is pretty typical of some of his other historical movies, such as Anonymous (2011), which is about the Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare. Explosions, random love interests, lots of dirt and blood, and a romanticized version of the past. -Madison Roberts
  
-I felt the movie showed that the United States loves to glorify the men who fought in the revolutionary war. In the US the Revolution is thought of as our beginning and to make the men who fought in it look like heros makes the US look good. I thought the scene that captured this best was when Mel Gibson grabs the flag, runs into combat, and flips the horse. +I felt the movie showed that the United States loves to glorify the men who fought in the revolutionary war. In the US the Revolution is thought of as our beginning and to make the men who fought in it look like heros makes the US look good. I thought the scene that captured this best was when Mel Gibson grabs the flag, runs into combat, and flips the horse. --Helen Dhue
  
 This movie was only made 20 years ago. Which doesn't seem like that long ago but the way they portrayed African Americans is really telling. The**y sugarcoated it, the slaves at Benjamin Martins plantation weren't slaves they were just "freed men who work the land". In South Carolina. In 1776. Something doesn't add up here. Any time there was a moment of racial tension which when presented were very light, it was immediately followed with something like the conversation Gabriel had with the African American man in the militia fighting for his freedom.** Gabriel said something along the lines of "In this new world after the war all men will be created equal". Which we know was not the case. If anything this film just trys to gloss over the fact that slavery was a bad thing occurring during this time.- Dan Dilks This movie was only made 20 years ago. Which doesn't seem like that long ago but the way they portrayed African Americans is really telling. The**y sugarcoated it, the slaves at Benjamin Martins plantation weren't slaves they were just "freed men who work the land". In South Carolina. In 1776. Something doesn't add up here. Any time there was a moment of racial tension which when presented were very light, it was immediately followed with something like the conversation Gabriel had with the African American man in the militia fighting for his freedom.** Gabriel said something along the lines of "In this new world after the war all men will be created equal". Which we know was not the case. If anything this film just trys to gloss over the fact that slavery was a bad thing occurring during this time.- Dan Dilks
329/question/329--week_4_questions_comments-2020.1600345259.txt.gz · Last modified: 2020/09/17 12:20 by 68.100.149.156