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The history of film making essay
History of film from beginning to present paper
The history of film making essay
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Roland Emmerich's The Patriot - An Open Letter to Mr. Mel Gibson
Dear Mel ,
Having read the avalanche of outraged articles in the UK press that preceded the UK launch of “The Patriot”, I readily admit that I was expecting to see a distinctly anti-British Movie. One such headline complains for example about a “blood libel on the British People”.
Some considerable way into the film (which, putting the controversy to one side, was otherwise enjoyable), I found myself questioning whether such criticism was justified. Characters on both sides, including the character you were playing, Benjamin Martin, were portrayed as being responsible for some shameful actions. I really was beginning to question what the fuss was all about.
I then watched the scene where Redcoats are depicted as sadists hanging old people. Later came the chilling episode in the Church, when Redcoat soldiers on the orders of the films main villain, Colonel William Tavington (partly modelled on the real-life Redcoat, Colonel Tarleton), deliberately locked a large number of the Colonials, including women and children, inside, before the Church was set ablaze. It was clear from the following scenes that all of the incarcerated victims were burnt to death in the most horrific circumstances. To say the least, this episode was unfortunate, as in reality, no such incident ever occurred.
Are there not enough grounds for causing bad feeling without inventing atrocities purely for entertainment value? And having said that, I personally, don't even find the aforementioned scenes entertaining. The Brits are inevitably the first and sometimes the only Country to support America, whatever the circumstances or adversity. It is therefore even more disturbing that the close friendship between two peoples should be potentially damaged purely for commercial purposes.
You always seem to be a decent man whenever I have seen you being interviewed. It may hopefully be the case that if indeed you have received the mega millions quoted for playing the lead role, you were perhaps unaware of the fact that history was being fabricated at the expense of the truth. According to what I have read about the history of that unfortunate period, there was surely enough wrongdoing on both sides, without having to invent such horrific events with the British being portrayed as outright sadists.
I have read a comment attributed to you in a UK film magazine called “Total Film” in which you apparently made the following comment about your character… “it’s based on historical fact but it’s got some stretches in it.
Many people believe that the Boston Tea Party arose just because of the Tea Act that came into play in 1773, but in-fact, this major statement arose from two issues surrounding the British Empire in 1765. The first of the issues was that the British East India Company was at risk of going under and the Parliament was finding ways to bring it back. The second issue was that there was a continuing dispute about the extent of the Parliament’s authority. Many colonists believe that the Parliament went overboard with their power and the people were concerned about the future. Attempting to resolve these two major issues, the North Ministry only worsened the problem and produced a showdown that would eventually result in revolution.
Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers to the United States, was not a patriot but a mere loyalist to England before the dissolution between England and the colonies occurred. Sheila L. Skemp's The Making of a Patriot explores how Benjamin Franklin tried to stay loyal to the crown while taking interest in the colonies perception and their own representation in Parliament. While Ms. Skemp alludes to Franklin's loyalty, her main illustration is how the attack by Alexander Wedderburn during the Privy Council led to Franklin's disillusionment with the British crown and the greater interest in making the Thirteen Colonies their own nation. Her analysis of Franklin's history in Parliament and what occurred on the night that the council convened proves the change behind Franklin's beliefs and what lead to his involvement in the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution.
When the Boston Tea Party occurred on the evening of December 16,1773, it was the culmination of many years of bad feeling between the British government and her American colonies. The controversy between the two always seemed to hinge on the taxes, which Great Britain required for the upkeep of the American colonies. Starting in 1765, the Stamp Act was intended by Parliament to provide the funds necessary to keep peace between the American settlers and the Native American population. The Stamp Act was loathed by the American colonists and later repealed by parliament.
Imagine you are a merchant in Boston selling imported goods from England with a high tax on them, when three ships come in with 342 chests of tea without planning to pay the middleman tax. That's how it was for many merchants in Boston. The East India Tea Company went bankrupt due to the dropping rate of tea sales in America because of the increasing rate of smuggling. The government's lack of support, and the newly passed Tea Act, only kindled more resentment towards the British from the colonists. This finally resulted in approximately three groups of fifty men going aboard the three British ships and dumping the tea into the Boston Harbor. The Boston Tea Party was more an act towards self-government and displaying their rights rather a way to gain revenge at England.
V for Vendetta is a graphic novel written by Allan Moore. It is a story full of comedy with V as the protagonist who is out to fight and destroy the government and affects innocent people. The novel was later adapted into a film and directed by James McTeigue and written by Wachowski Brothers.
The British was essential to the colonists in whom they offered them military protection and a stability of government, even though the colonists weren't well represented in the parliament. Many colonists felt that the tyrannical rules of the King violated their rights causing many disputes. Some colonists who remained loyal to the King, known as loyalists, believed that the king was doing the right thing on taxing and ruling them, others just did not agree with this and sparked the first civil war on the United States. To show how much the colonists hated the idea of tea getting taxed, they dumped tons of tea on the Pacific Ocean to symbolize that they did not want to be taxed, in their words it was a violation of their civil rights. By rebelling against the government and causing destruction, the colonists expressed how angered they were and how badly they wanted to break ...
The Patriot is a movie based on the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), the war fought between Great Britain and the thirteen colonies of the North American continent. In this war on American soil the colonists fought for independence from Europe and King George III’s criticized rule. The Patriot takes on this topic through the character Benjamin Martin, played by actor Mel Gibson, who is based on the Revolutionary War militia leader Francis “The Swamp Fox” Marion. The movie also features a few battles actually fought in the war and weapons used in the war. Although the movie displays actual events, people, and objects that occurred and existed during the war, there are historical points changed to satisfy the audience of the theater.
The Boston Tea Party was significant act of civil disobedience that worried the Americans about the issue of taxation, but it helped spark the Revolutionary War. The Boston Tea Party took place on December 16, 1773 and it created the issue of taxation causing the Tea Act to appear. I chose the Boston Tea Party because it is an odd
The Boston tea party was a brief incident among many, composing, economic, and political crisis that ultimately caused a revolution. These events consisted of The French and Indian war, the Stamp Act, the Townshend Revenue Act, the Tea Act, and of course the Boston Tea Party. The incident caused by the colonies infuriated the British government therefore as punishment parliament responded to the abuse with the Coercive Acts of 1774 . When the thirteen colonies once again decided to resist the British troops revolution spread. “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.” This act later on lead to the American Revolutionary War, were years later independence was
Most people have heard about the Boston Tea Party. When American’s dumped British Tea in Boston Harbor. But not everyone understands the importance of it, and why the Tea Party is still remembered today.
In the American colonies on April 19th, 1775, the American colonists were being ruled over by Great Britain. American colonists were being pushed to their breaking points as British generals were sent to America to try to “maintain order”. The colonists wanted nothing more than to be freed from British rule and rid themselves of the taxes that were placed on their heads. The colonists temporarily stopped these taxes once they dumped the British tea into the Boston harbor on December 16th, 1773. Although most of the tea was easily recovered, the message still stood that the American colonies wanted out of the system. The Boston Tea Party is said to be the first official moment where American colonists felt a true sense of pride in their country;
The Boston Tea Party was an important historical event that happened on the night of December 16th, 1773. This was a predicament that was between the British government and the American colonies. The number one priority of it dealt with taxes, which Britain was requiring American colonies to pay. In 1765, the Stamp Act was created by Parliament to provide money to make peach with the Native Americans and the American settlers. It was an act that was loathed by the colonists of America, and was repealed by parliament for many reasons. The government of Britain created other laws to maintain all the problems that were being forced upon; which later, the Boston Tea Part was focused on the Parliamentary Law. Americans were very up to date when it came to financial demands by the British Parliament. They were not blind sighted by the whole thing and just did what British said. In 1765, an organization that was kept on the down level, called the Sons and Daughters of Liberty was created for the British to boycott their products. With the start of 1773, assemblies of Massachusetts and Virginia had created the Committees of Correspondence, which was a group that was directed to communicate to any threats that was being shown by any of the American colonies. With that being said, parliament passed the Tea Act, which had a big part in the Boston Tea Party. The Tea Act allowed East Indian Company to undersell colonial tea merchants in American Market. It was the start of something new.
Media texts are created from past events that have occurred and often times Hollywood would try and manipulate the event so it represents the past and the reception it gets through different communities. The film Argo (2012) is no exception trying to show a “Hollywoodize” event of the Iranian Hostage Crisis which received mixed receptions and is controversial on how the event is portrayed. The film is often criticized for the authenticity and accuracy of how the event is portrayed; the film directed by Ben Affleck chose to add “drama” and manipulate the actual event in order to obtain a wider audience. With the film involving a variety of government during the hostage crisis, the film focuses only specific on U.S. government and Canadian government. The film focuses on showcasing how powerful C.I.A. and American government is. While the Canadian government portrayed played a minor role in the film and other governments was not even mention. The film was criticized by United States, Canada, and British and New Zealand’s critics for the role each country had in the film as it shows the film is deceptive in telling the truth and accuracy of the event. United States had its role glorified that it seemed to have done most of the work; while Canada had its role minimized, and that the film was made out to have a small role that Canada had with United States, but some countries like New Zealand was not even mentioned. Therefore, with the mixed reception the film received it makes the understanding of Iranian Hostage Crisis on how that event better understands the role of government in cinema is shown between countries: U.S., British and New Zealand, and Canada.
The events before and after the Boston Tea Party, such as the vandalism of British property, the Boston massacre, and the colonists’ rebellious organizations were a major influence to the American Revolution because they were signs of revolt in the colonies, because they angered Britain, and because they united the colonies.
The costly French and Indian War created a divide between British Parliament and the colonists that was temporarily appeased when William Pitt returned recruitment control to the colonists and reimbursed farmers and tradesmen for their goods and services that had been forcefully taken. However, this peace was short lived when British Parliament tried to acquire complete control of the colonies and regain financial stability by passing the Stamp Act of 1765, the Townshend Duties, the Tea Act of 1773, and the Intolerable Acts of 1774. The acts greatly inconvenienced the colonists and led to the Boston Massacre of 1770, the Boston “tea party,” colonial unity, and the first shot at Lexington that sparked the American Revolution.