I am what some people, especially those on Left, consider vulgar: I am unapologetically American. I found a shirt that says that, and will be proudly sporting it today for my America 250 celebrations.
This attitude was embedded very early in my life, and despite the attempted indoctrination of higher education (I hold a Master's degree), it has remained and even deepened. One of the reasons why is through watching certain films. Three particular films, two which I viewed in my childhood, helped shape my love of America's founding story and how my own American story could be incorporated to create a greater tapestry of liberty, freedom, and opportunity. I was what they now call neurodivergent, so putting knowledge to music was the way I learned best. It did wonders to embed concepts into my mind and conversely into my soul.
So, I give you the two musicals and the dramatic film which captured the American story, and stirred the American spirit in my life.
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
Until recently, I was an insomniac. As a kid, I never got to sleep before 3:00 AM, which didn't help in getting me up for school the next day. What it did provide was a love of classic movies, because in the 1970s, there was no cable or movie channels; there was just the local WGN, which filled late-night air time with old movies. Frankly, it was better than the 1,000 channels with nothing on that we pay for today.
Right around July 4th, "Yankee Doodle Dandy," about the life and career of George M. Cohan, would air, and it immediately became one of my favorites. I made it a habit to look for and watch it every year, and as an adult I just bought the VHS, then the DVD, and now the stream.
As a kid, the songs, which are packaged lessons on patriotism in and of themselves, had me singing along. And actor James Cagney's dancing was just a delight to watch. As an adult, it's still great music, and reawakens that childlike fun. But through older eyes, these lines from the movie hold greater impact:
Cohan is in the White House speaking with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Roosevelt says to him: "You carry your love of country like a flag, right out in the open." It's a clarion call. We have people on social media discussing whether they should display their flag on July 4, and frankly, I find it shameful. This year, we are flying three: The American flag and two commemorative America 250 flags on our front porch, out in the open for all to see. Because we are unashamed, and unafraid. It helps tremendously that we now live in a state and a community where patriotism runs high, but even when we lived in woke California we flew our flag. It was our line in the sand that we honor the American flag and all it stands for, not because it's in fashion, but because it's right.
Another line toward the end of the film is also prescient. After decades of success, Cohan and his patriotic musicals which promoted love of country were being considered out of fashion. Cohan was about to throw in the towel, when the United States becomes embroiled in World War I. Cagney (as Cohan)'s voiceover said it all:
It seems it always happens. Whenever we get too high hat and too sophisticated for flag waving, some thug nation decides we're a pushover, all ready to be blackjacked. It isn't long before we're looking up mighty anxiously to ensure the flag is still waving over us.
The American flag: "Old Glory," "The Star Spangled Banner" embodies and represents America and who we are as a country. And every time I see it waving, my heart swells with pride and I breathe a sigh of relief that we are still here, defending freedom and the blessings of liberty.
Like me, Cohan was a grateful American who used his talent and treasure to express that love of country, and he left all of us a legacy of patriotic music and service which still captures the American spirit and our imagination.
1776 (1972)
I had a really great Catholic grammar school education, and as part of our American history, we viewed the musical "1776" in the classroom. I was a little older than I was when I first viewed, "Yankee Doodle Dandy," so piecing together the book knowledge with the scenes on the screen was actually quite fun. It still is, as an adult, and being a casual historian, I still find it fascinating, especially since portions of the dialogue and the song lyrics were taken directly from the letters and memoirs of that Second Continental Congress in 1776. To this lifelong geek, it's still very cool.
While not a suitcase tune, "Is Anybody There" stuck in my mind even back then, and it still sticks.
Here's actor William Daniels, who portrayed John Adams in the original Broadway musical and in the film.
Read More: Feel-Good Friday: Young Grayson Crocheted The Betsy Ross Flag for America 250
Happy 250th Birthday, America: We Now Live Twice As Long As We Did in 1776
The Patriot (2000)
Of course I saw this non-musical film as an adult. But it quickly became another great window on history, and was added to my July 4th collection of annual film viewing. Aside from the reenactment of historical events, which is visually stunning and powerful, it had Mel Gibson! He was in his acting prime at that time, and frankly, he still has it. The fact that he is also a conservative and an American-loving patriot, enhances the viewing experience in my mind.
Yes, I know all the "History vs. Hollywood" debunkers and leftist historians like Ken Burns have criticized the film. I really don't care. Movies are dramatizations of an event or series of events, not historical recordings like documentaries. So, capturing those events in a particular way and compositing certain characters is all about keeping the audience engaged, and rather like music does, helps you receive the knowledge in a fresh way.
One of the marks of a great film is that you can watch it over again and discover something new each time. Like with "1776," when I view "The Patriot," I can marry it with the historical knowledge I've gained in the past or more recently, and enjoy it even more.
This scene is one of my favorite representations of a composite character. Unlike prior movies about the Revolutionary War, writer Robert Rodat and director Roland Emmerich incorporated black characters who reflected the true history. Both free and enslaved Blacks and Native Americans fought in the American Revolution and the enslaved ones were given the promise of freedom. Occam is representative of this hunger for freedom, not just for the Black and indigenous races, but for the band of brothers who fought together to achieve it, and still fight to maintain it.
There are others I watch around Independence Day, including the campy and historically inaccurate "National Treasure" series. But these three films are the ones that not only shaped my patriotism, but continue to deepen my knowledge and appreciation for the American founding and the American story.
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