The Patriot

The Patriot takes place during the Revolutionary War, and it depicts the story of a farmer turned into a reluctant, but lethal, soldier. The Farmer, Benjamin Martin (played by Mel Gibson), at first has no desire for there to even be a war, and he offers his house as a medical station for both the Americans and British after a battle occurs nearby. However, a British commander arrives, blames Martin of being a spy, kills one of his sons, shoots all the wounded Americans, burns down martin's house, and captures another one of Martin's sons. Now with no other choice, Martin and his remaining sons track down the British Convoy and free the captured son, Gabriel (played by Heath Ledger). Martin goes on to lead the local militia in guerrila warfare in order to occupy General Cornwallis's attention and prevent him from going north. Martin provokes more and more attention, winning skirmish after skirmish, but eventually Gabriel is killed by the same commander who burned down their house. In the last full out battle, Martin returns the favor and kills the commander, and the Americans are victorious in the Battle of Cowpens. The film ends with Cornwallis being beseiged in Yorktown and being forced to surrender, and Martin finds his neighbors and fellow militia men rebuilding his house in gratitude of all he did for them.

I think the goal of this particular film, like many others, was to show the tragedies many people have to face during wars as well as the tremedous bravery and accomplishments of those who fought. Martin is thrown in to fight with the death with one of his sons, and he is tormented even more witht the death of Gabriel. This is only one man in the war, and every man killed has family that will never see them again. The movie does a good job of showing this.

Contrary to Mary O'Hare's wishes, though, the movie also does an excellent job of glorifying the victories gained and obstacles overcome. The end is particularly patriotic and magnificent as Martin rushes headlong towards the commander and his horse with only an American flag (seen above) as a weapon, and against all odds, Martin and the rest of the Americans are victorious. The unrealistic rise of Martin from a petty farmer to a renowned tactician could serve to inspire others who are not ready for war to do the same. Unlike Martin, however, these naive children will most likely just die an inglorious death. So the answer is no, I don't think Mary O'Hare would support this film.

Other than the fact that both The Patriot and Slaughterhouse 5 revolve around wars, there really aren't any other similarities. The Revolutionary War time period is quite different than the modern sci-fi background of Slaughterhouse 5. The Patriot is also has a very linear timeline, whereas Slaughterhouse 5 is as non-linear as they come. Also, whereas Billy is relatively passive throughout the story, Martin is racked with emotion and driven by revenge the whole time. I really can't pick out any other similarities.