Historical Truth in "The Patriot"

Paper Summary:

This paper begins by describing the plot of the film, "The Patriot", and then goes on to look at the lack of historical truth contained within the movie. The paper points out that the movie suggests that women and African-Americans had a much greater degree of freedom and equality than they really did during the time of the Revolution and that the representations of the British and American soldiers are lacking in accuracy. Also discussed is the way "The Patriot" misleadingly depicts two separate major battles of the Revolutionary war as only one battle.

From the Paper:

"Furthermore, it appears that the producers of The Patriot felt that it was necessary to be "politically correct," for they inserted particular story elements based on 1990's morality. One such element relates to the fact that the African-Americans working at Benjamin Martin's plantation are not slaves which goes completely against reality; another concerns the women in the story who instead of being part of an underclass are fiercely independent and very outspoken."

More papers on Historical Truth in "The Patriot":

• Film Review # 121104 : "American Revolution in "The Patriot"
• Essay # 60997 : "The Warner Brothers Film "The Patriot"
• Book Review # 128129 : "Historical Context in "The Scarlet Letter"

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