Historical Accuracy In The Patriot

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Since the beginning, movies have always been extremely influential on society. They can be captivating, emotional, or even historical. The Patriot is just one of the many examples of a historical film. Mel Gibson plays Benjamin Martin, a simple man of South Carolina, who joins the American Revolution when the British attempt to take his farm away from him. Benjamin and his son Gabriel rally together in a militia to protect their land from the British. This film’s historical accuracy has its ups, and definitely has its downs. Many inaccuracies occur, such as lack of loyalists, freedom of slaves, and types of crimes committed by the British. This film should not be taken to be a completely accurate view of the American Revolutionary war, and …show more content…
The main character, Benjamin Martin, was portraying Francis Marion during that time period. Throughout the movie Benjamin is portrayed as a family man with strong morals and regret for his actions during the French and Indian War. When in actuality, Francis Marion was known for his love for killing Indians and he also enjoyed raping his slaves as well. This misrepresentation greatly changes the outlook of the protagonist in this film. The filmmakers clearly thought this would put a poor light on the central character, so they opted to leave this part out during the film making …show more content…
All of the battle scenes were correctly portrayed. Having soldiers in uniform lines fire, step back for second group to step forward and fire was the strategy of war to that time. It also showed the battling style that was so well known for that time period. Almost all the battles were fought out in an open field with soldiers in lines and once the soldiers fired off two or three volleys, they would then charge to use bayonets, axes, swords, and knives to confront the enemy. The rifles were shown to be extremely inaccurate from any distance beyond point blank range. During this war the weaponry sophistication was

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