Is Anybody There?

While I do realize that a list of the Best 4th of July Movies is something almost every film website feels compelled to put up on this day every year, in this case, I feel that I still must offer my own endorsement of just four of the most patriotically perfect flicks that I feel Hollywood has mustered up.

#4: Glory

This movie holds a special place in my memory for being the first non-animated film (Lion King was the very first) to permanently traumatize me. My 6th grade history teacher, in covering the Civil War, felt that it was necessary to show a class of 11-year olds a scene in which a man has his head quite graphically blown to pieces. I vividly remember the audible gasp that arose from my fellow elementary school students to this day. While I do applaud my teacher for showing a high quality piece of cinema, I think that many of the intended viewers were too shell shocked or occupied with covering their eyes to fully enjoy the material. Several years later, I settled in for a repeat viewing, and was fully moved by the story of Shaw and his regiment of African-American soldiers. To see men, who under their government's laws, were not even given rights as human beings ready to die for their country is both haunting and inspiring. It carries a powerful message that in America, a man may give his life and love for a cause, but not the system which backs it. 

#3: 1776

I once read a statement that there are only two things in this world that are truly American: jazz, and the musical theatre. Taking the latter of the two, and some historical liberties (no pun intended), "1776" bypasses the stodgy old portraits we so often see of our founding fathers and pours a hearty mug of ale all over them. Instead, Franklin, Adams, Jefferson and the Continental Congress are given makeovers as bawdy alcoholics and lusty womanizers; they balance their composition of the Declaration of Independence with a little Afternoon Delight, and of course, singing. Nothing more American than that! While most of the movie takes a comedic tone to the proceedings, the three final songs of the film call to attention issues which many of us would never occur to think about passing through the minds of men who our country has effectively fashioned out to be gods. My favorite, "Molasses to Rum", sung by South Carolina representative Edward Rutledge, is an intense accusation of the Northern States' hypocrisy regarding the African slave trade, and that the New England seafarers- not the southern plantation owners, are the ones who "stuff them in the ships" and move them to an unfriendly new continent. "1776" not only reminds us of our more well-known accomplishments in the past, but also the issues which still today go unresolved.

#2: "Yankee Doodle Dandy"

The musical makes a second appearance on the list, but once again shows that it is more an American institution than apple pie. Even when our country has gone through its darkest and most controversial days, watching James Cagney in this George M. Cohan biopic can inspire even the most hesitant patriot to bust on the American flag. To see the life of a man who dedicates his life and spirit to his country through the forms of song and dance is awe-inspiring. While he never held a musket in battle or crawled through the trenches, the original "Yankee Doodle Boy", Cohan, is the greatest American of us all. Brash, witty and earnest, he is the tap-dancing, singing incarnation of the very spirit of our country. In the final scene, as he marches alongside a soldier in a WWII pride parade, harmonizing to one of his most famous numbers, "Over There", I dare anyone who has ever called themselves American to not shed a tear for the man who embodies the greatest in us all.

#1: "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"

I beginning to realize just how depressing patriotism is, as I write that once more, during this movie, I bawled my bloody eyes out before the credits began to roll. Much like the message within "Yankee Doodle Dandy", "Mr. Smith" puts into action that one of the greatest principles of American government is that any man with a heart large enough can make a difference in the way our country is run. For a movie unfolding almost entirely in the senate chamber, a modern day viewer may expect constant party-centered jabs and nudges in comedic form, but "Mr. Smith" is entirely independent in its views, apart from being singularly American in form. While we may have escaped from the rampant political machines and bosses of the early 20th century, anyone can realize that the goings-on in our country aren't always as moral as we would like to believe. But while we may (quite often) disagree with what our government says or does, the most patriotic thing that we may do as Americans is exercise our right to dissent. To fight it. Washington, Jefferson, Franklin and Adams didn't form our country by politely disagreeing with the British empire- they told Parliament just where they could shove their taxes, and then proceeded to make America! "Mr. Smith" illustrates that concept better than any movie I've ever seen, and I think that in 2008, as many Americans look up towards the upcoming presidential appointment, and the blunders that have resulted from the last one, this movie is more relevant than ever- simply for it's basic premise- that America is never beyond saving. I'll leave you with it's final scene, brilliantly delivered by James Stewart:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=p1d19wV1GZQ&feature=related