After reading the assignment online, I found myself pondering whether or not I found the movie The Martyrs of the Alamo to be racist. I have been sitting here for a while thinking and searching reading others postings to see their opinions, in hopes that it might spark some of my own. I still have nothing. So in conclusion, from my lengthy pondering, I think that the fact that I have no opinion shows that this is not something that caught my attention.
I’m not sure whether I believe that this movie was racist toward one side or the other. I think that there were racist idealisms throughout, but not necessarily solely based on the Mexicans or the Anglo settlers. I think that the movie portrays Santa Anna as being a power hungry irrational man. It also depicts his army as, dare I say, ignorant in their approach. At the same time, the movie depicts the Anglo settlers to be rebellious and in some way cheaters. It placed them in a stubborn and almost forceful light. In my opinion the racism throughout the movie is used to depict a certain picture. Now whether that picture is overall racist, I am undecided.
Moving on to address the issue of women and love throughout the picture. I think that women were shown to be strong in their approach, but they were weakened by the attitudes that the men had towards them. The love of a women and the need to protect her is what motivates the Anglo settlers to revolt. A woman being pestered in the streets by the Mexican army prompts a shooting in the movie. I think in this way it seems as if the men treated the women as objects that needed to be protected, almost like they own them.
Later the movie causes me to contradict my own opinion because it shows women helping within the battle. Instead of showing the women just hiding and being scared, it shows them loading weapons and being nurses. The movie depicts the women here in a strong and valuable light. I found this to be the most interesting part of the movie because in newer films, I have never seen this. The newer movie “The Alamo” shows the women hiding and staying out of the way. This movie portrays them as playing a role in the battle. Considering the reading that we did for Thursday, I now wonder if this is just coincidence or maybe something that is done now to ultimately influence perceptions. I can’t think of any new war movie that shows women fighting in a battle. Are we back in the 1950’s? I really am bothered by these omissions in today’s films. I wonder how often things like this happen. At this point I am going to move on to my post about Thursday’s reading.
I’m not sure whether I believe that this movie was racist toward one side or the other. I think that there were racist idealisms throughout, but not necessarily solely based on the Mexicans or the Anglo settlers. I think that the movie portrays Santa Anna as being a power hungry irrational man. It also depicts his army as, dare I say, ignorant in their approach. At the same time, the movie depicts the Anglo settlers to be rebellious and in some way cheaters. It placed them in a stubborn and almost forceful light. In my opinion the racism throughout the movie is used to depict a certain picture. Now whether that picture is overall racist, I am undecided.
Moving on to address the issue of women and love throughout the picture. I think that women were shown to be strong in their approach, but they were weakened by the attitudes that the men had towards them. The love of a women and the need to protect her is what motivates the Anglo settlers to revolt. A woman being pestered in the streets by the Mexican army prompts a shooting in the movie. I think in this way it seems as if the men treated the women as objects that needed to be protected, almost like they own them.
Later the movie causes me to contradict my own opinion because it shows women helping within the battle. Instead of showing the women just hiding and being scared, it shows them loading weapons and being nurses. The movie depicts the women here in a strong and valuable light. I found this to be the most interesting part of the movie because in newer films, I have never seen this. The newer movie “The Alamo” shows the women hiding and staying out of the way. This movie portrays them as playing a role in the battle. Considering the reading that we did for Thursday, I now wonder if this is just coincidence or maybe something that is done now to ultimately influence perceptions. I can’t think of any new war movie that shows women fighting in a battle. Are we back in the 1950’s? I really am bothered by these omissions in today’s films. I wonder how often things like this happen. At this point I am going to move on to my post about Thursday’s reading.
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