Five Great Movies That Celebrate American Patriots

Townhall.com ^ | July 5, 2016 | John Hanlon

[Kaslin]

On the 4^th of July, it’s always important to recognize the strength and resolve of the American spirit. At times, it may seem that Hollywood takes that idea for granted but despite that, filmmakers continue to create great patriotic features that remind us about what being an American is all about. 

With that in mind, here’s a list of five movies — all from the past dozen years—that do a great job in capturing and celebrating American patriots. 

Miracle (2004): Aside from the 4^th of the July, there aren’t that many major events when thousands of people rally around our country and celebrate our nation’s victories. The Olympic Games is one of those occasions. That is especially true when our nation’s athletes face off against the athletes of a nation that is warring against us. 

Such was the case in 1980 when the men’s U.S. Olympic hockey team faced off against the Russians in an intense match-up. The Russian team was favored (by a lot) but the U.S. men’s team defeated them in a historic upset and went on to win the gold medal. The 2004 Disney film Miracle chronicles how coach Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell) defied expectations and led his team — and our nation’s spirit — soaring in the midst of the Cold War.

Lincoln (2012): In Steven Spielberg’s commendable historical drama Lincoln, the 16^th President (played by a terrific Daniel Day-Lewis) faces a nation divided. The Civil War was ending but our country wasn’t prepared for what happened next.

Lincoln aligns himself with members of Congress — of both political parties — to ensure that former slaves cannot be returned to involuntary servitude after the war is over. Above everything else, Lincoln knew what was right for our country and pushed the United States, which had been divided for years, to embrace our best ideals.

Lone Survivor (2014): Based on the book Lone Survivor, this Peter Berg-directed war movie brings the heroic Marcus Luttrell’s story to life. The feature revolves around a military mission to target a Taliban leader in Afghanistan. 

Although the mission faltered and the results were tragic, this patriotic drama showcases the sacrifices that our men and women make every day on the battlefield. Luttrell and his fellow officers were heroes who fought bravely for our country in a war that has cost thousands of soldiers their lives. 

Selma (2014): Although our nation was founded on great ideals, we haven’t always lived up to them.  Such was the case in the 1960s when African-Americas were fighting for equal rights. The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought bravely against the status quo to make our nation live up to its most noble values.  

Played by David Oyelowo, King takes center stage in Ava DuVernay’s remarkable 2014 drama, Selma. The feature captures King’s use of nonviolence protests to show the brutality that African-Americans faced in this country. The feature captures King’s obvious personal flaws but it also showcases his fight for a better America — an America that grants all of his citizens equal rights.

Bridge of Spies (2015): Director Steven Spielberg, who made this list earlier with Lincoln, has directed a great number of patriotic films. His greatest one was undeniably the classic Saving Private Ryan (1998) but in 2015, the Tom Hanks-drama Bridge of Spies offered a look at a different type of patriot. 

The drama takes on the true story of James B. Donovan (played by Hanks). In the feature, Donovan is tasked with representing a Soviet spy in court. Despite a public backlash, Donovan did his best to represent the spy. He wanted to show that the justice that a Soviet spy faced in America would be fairer (and more humane) than the “justice” that American spies would face in the Soviet Union.

Donovan’s diplomatic skills — used effectively in the eventual prisoner swap here and in this leader’s eventual work in Cuba — helped the United States free thousands of prisoners who were being held overseas.  

Looking for more films that celebrate American patriots? Click here for our full list.

[reg45]

Most New York commerce was from the free states by way of the Hudson river, the Erie Canal and the Great Lakes. Prior to the building of the Erie Canal, New York City was a comparatively minor port. New York was an important port because of its proximity to Europe and to the Hudson River.

If tariffs are the metric you use to measure economies then you need to remember that tariffs are collected on imports not on exports. Imports were mostly from Europe and therefore not products of slavery.

Most of the agricultural exports from slave states were done through southern ports like Baltimore, Charleston, Savannah, Mobile and New Orleans.

[Vigilanteman]

Interesting map, but there would be no tariffs on imported slaves after 1808 because the trade was illegal by then. See Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution.

[stockpirate]

“I don’t have that much info regarding the battles. I think that by the time those started, all the politics of the situation had solidified, and the reasons why it started were no longer significant to the outcome.”

The democrat controlled south approached the war mush the same way they do now. The early battles were fought by men who had no firearms because the south didn’t buy as many as requested, same with power and other supplies.

[DiogenesLamp]

Most New York commerce was from the free states by way of the Hudson river, the Erie Canal and the Great Lakes. Prior to the building of the Erie Canal, New York City was a comparatively minor port. New York was an important port because of its proximity to Europe and to the Hudson River.

See message #37.

[DiogenesLamp]

Interesting map, but there would be no tariffs on imported slaves after 1808 because the trade was illegal by then. See Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution.

Okay, somehow I didn't make my point clearly enough. The New England profits from slavery had nothing to do with the "slave trade." They had to do with 3/4ths of all US exports being produced by slave labor.

The exports went out Southern ports to the tune of 3/4ths the value of all US Exports, but the return specie and trade came back in through New York, where New York and the Federal government both took their cut.

New York was making money off of the slaves laboring in the Southern fields.

I hope that clarifies my point. It has nothing to do with trading slaves, it has to do with taking from working slaves the fruits of their labor.

Same as Washington D.C. and the power corridor to New York has been doing for a long time.

[Vigilanteman]

Point taken. Of course, prior to 1808, they profited off the slave trade as well.

We toured Jamestown a few years back. One of the interesting things we learned is that the first slave ships turned up some a decade or so after the colony was founded to peddle their wares, Portuguese, I believe.

The slaves were packed in horrible conditions and Colonists were horrified and turned the ships away. But they had second thoughts a couple of years later as tobacco thrived and labor was scare. This time, it was a Dutch ship and the slaves were transported in far better conditions, so they struck a deal.

[RegulatorCountry]

Even then, Africans were treated as any other indentured servant in Virginia, they worked off the term of their indenture, then were free. Up until a somewhat notorious lawsuit that instituted slavery for life, that is.

[DiogenesLamp]

The slaves were packed in horrible conditions and Colonists were horrified and turned the ships away. But they had second thoughts a couple of years later as tobacco thrived and labor was scare. This time, it was a Dutch ship and the slaves were transported in far better conditions, so they struck a deal.

The longer I go through life, the more I realize just how many people there are who want someone else to labor on their behalf.

I suppose it was always thus, though people were more willing to face the truth of what they were doing in the past. Now those who receive the benefits provided by the work of others prefer their slaves to be faceless and nameless.

[x]

Selma (2014): Although our nation was founded on great ideals, we haven’t always lived up to them. Such was the case in the 1960s when African-Americas were fighting for equal rights. The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought bravely against the status quo to make our nation live up to its most noble values.

Selma really did a job on LBJ. I didn't care when Johnson's surviving people were complaining. I figured the filmmakers reshaped what happened to make a better story. But when they twist things to fit some preconceived pattern of heroes and villains and exploit cheap emotionalism it makes for a lousy movie.

Played by David Oyelowo, King takes center stage in Ava DuVernay’s remarkable 2014 drama, Selma. The feature captures King’s use of nonviolence protests to show the brutality that African-Americans faced in this country. The feature captures King’s obvious personal flaws but it also showcases his fight for a better America — an America that grants all of his citizens equal rights.

Oyelowo had some nerve, taking the role away from deserving African-American actors and then complaining about Hollywood not providing better roles for African-Americans.

[x]

“Bridge of Spies” is terrific and worth seeing just for Mark Rylance’s incredible,low-key performance.

I dunno. I know he's supposed to be some great Shakespearean actor, but it looked like what he was doing in Bridge of Spies wasn't all that different from what he was doing in Wolf Hall -- playing a meek, befuddled, goggle-eyed guy.

Maybe if I see more work by him I'll appreciate him more, but just from the two things I've seen, he doesn't appear to have a much wider range than Stallone, who he beat out for the Oscar.

That said,I find it an odd list.

The complete list is here. You could certainly find a lot more patriotic movies from the Forties and Fifties, but I think they were only looking at more recent movies.

[CodeToad]

Selma? Really??