The Patriot
As the title says this movie is about patriotism, one of the essential concepts in American culture.
The film is about a farmer, Benjamin Martin, who has experienced war in earlier time, when he fought with France.
Now that he is a family man and has seven children, all he wants is to live in peace to be able to raise his children after his wife's death.
However, in 1776, the time of the movie and Charleston, the place, the assembly of Americans gather together and want to end the oppression of Britain that has exerted hard rules.
They vote for recruiting for war.
One of the staunches of fighting with England colonialists is the eldest son of Martin, Gabriel.
They are against King George the second in England and want to join the colonial army to stand against the oppressors 3000 miles away and attain independence from old world.
This happens when America has no core government and just 13 fragmented colonies governed by the rules from England.
It is well dramatized in the movies that nothing can unite the states but the sense of patriotism.
Real war breaks out and Gabriel in spite of his father's will, joins army.
The enemies are red coats whose commander is Cornowallis, an aristocrat, who believes just an aristocrat should and could lead the army.
He cares about his attire, handwritings and dogs and at the same time according to Martin who read his diaries is a genius in war.
What is pictured in the movies is the cruelty in addition to aristocratic spirit on the side of England and sacrifice in colonies people.
England soldiers set fire on houses and even churches if they helped the colonial army who scarified their own lives and families.
Historical information derived from the movie is not sizable, just mentioning some names like George Washington who is fighting somewhere else and announced slaves who join the colonial army free, and at the end surrounds Cornwallis.
What is conspicuous is the open attention to some themes, like patriotism that is repeatedly shown in the form of respect to the flag, and the the representation of blacks.
I think flag has important connotation here, a cloth with strapped red and white with a circle of 13 stars at the top left corner.
Gabriel takes the torn flag put under the feet of the soldiers in the battlefield and mends it.
At the last scene, Martin who throughout the story had joined the colonial army, inspired by this flag, returns to battlefield and witnesses the retreat of enemy and advancement of his fellow warriors.
The representation of blacks was another important theme in this movie.
The female black, Abigail, the nanny of Martin's children is a submitted, nice and kind character.
The children love her too and they live in the same home happily.
However, the authority imposed on black males is more outstanding.
They work on farm and obviously in hard conditions, but it seems they have a sense of belonging to their master too, because when the British soldiers seized them they went with them reluctantly, as if they preferred their own master.
They are promised to set free from both King George and George Washington.
King George promised them freedom after war and Washington put the condition on their freedom as serving in colonial army for 12 months.
So, when one of slaves continue fighting in colonial army, his white fellow warrior tells him that he is honorable.
The concept of maltreating with the black is vanished in this film.
They serve the white people and they seem all content and happy.
The film is about a farmer, Benjamin Martin, who has experienced war in earlier time, when he fought with France.
Now that he is a family man and has seven children, all he wants is to live in peace to be able to raise his children after his wife's death.
However, in 1776, the time of the movie and Charleston, the place, the assembly of Americans gather together and want to end the oppression of Britain that has exerted hard rules.
They vote for recruiting for war.
One of the staunches of fighting with England colonialists is the eldest son of Martin, Gabriel.
They are against King George the second in England and want to join the colonial army to stand against the oppressors 3000 miles away and attain independence from old world.
This happens when America has no core government and just 13 fragmented colonies governed by the rules from England.
It is well dramatized in the movies that nothing can unite the states but the sense of patriotism.
Real war breaks out and Gabriel in spite of his father's will, joins army.
The enemies are red coats whose commander is Cornowallis, an aristocrat, who believes just an aristocrat should and could lead the army.
He cares about his attire, handwritings and dogs and at the same time according to Martin who read his diaries is a genius in war.
What is pictured in the movies is the cruelty in addition to aristocratic spirit on the side of England and sacrifice in colonies people.
England soldiers set fire on houses and even churches if they helped the colonial army who scarified their own lives and families.
Historical information derived from the movie is not sizable, just mentioning some names like George Washington who is fighting somewhere else and announced slaves who join the colonial army free, and at the end surrounds Cornwallis.
What is conspicuous is the open attention to some themes, like patriotism that is repeatedly shown in the form of respect to the flag, and the the representation of blacks.
I think flag has important connotation here, a cloth with strapped red and white with a circle of 13 stars at the top left corner.
Gabriel takes the torn flag put under the feet of the soldiers in the battlefield and mends it.
At the last scene, Martin who throughout the story had joined the colonial army, inspired by this flag, returns to battlefield and witnesses the retreat of enemy and advancement of his fellow warriors.
The representation of blacks was another important theme in this movie.
The female black, Abigail, the nanny of Martin's children is a submitted, nice and kind character.
The children love her too and they live in the same home happily.
However, the authority imposed on black males is more outstanding.
They work on farm and obviously in hard conditions, but it seems they have a sense of belonging to their master too, because when the British soldiers seized them they went with them reluctantly, as if they preferred their own master.
They are promised to set free from both King George and George Washington.
King George promised them freedom after war and Washington put the condition on their freedom as serving in colonial army for 12 months.
So, when one of slaves continue fighting in colonial army, his white fellow warrior tells him that he is honorable.
The concept of maltreating with the black is vanished in this film.
They serve the white people and they seem all content and happy.
