Patriotic Movies

It's almost two weeks since Independence Day. What was I saying about good intentions? But it's still July, after all, and it never hurts to think about what it took to get this nation started and the fine qualities which define it even now.

These are, of course, huge subjects. Gigantic, in fact. Libraries could be written on them. But I was thinking this July 4th about the patriotic movies that we like to watch, with interesting results; because my favorites are contemplations and commentaries in themselves.

Every year around the beginning of July, my family and I like to pull out a few classic patriotic movies - so often that it doesn't feel like 4th of July without them: "Independence Day," of course (too much explosion and stuff being destroyed - I avoid that one). A recent addition; "Captain America" (fun, though uninspired). "National Treasure" and "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" (these are actually surprisingly patriotic and carry a nice sense of history and nobility). And we might throw in a war movie - "Patton" this year, "The Patriot" (disappointing), one of the WWII greats (we're working through these slowly), and probably "Captain America" actually belongs here. And then there's "Sergeant York" and "Foreign Correspondent" - both with outright propaganda, that still works!

But then there are my two favorite of all Independence Day movies - the ones that really stir the mind and challenge the heart; "1776" and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington".

"1776" is crass, crude, and bawdy in places. Back when it came out about 200 years ago, new film critic Roger Ebert disliked the way it tore down the Founding Fathers, not paying them the proper reverence. But this was wrong. It is well written and well researched, many lines drawn direct from letters that the men of the Continental Congress wrote and shaped into surprisingly powerful debates and songs. For, of all unlikely things, it is a musical about the writing and signing of the Declaration of Independence. It doesn't take itself too seriously, but at the same time realizes the importance and weight of the war that a young country was launching against a world power that ought to have destroyed it. An odd juxtaposition, but incredible.

"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" almost takes the opposite extreme. It is set in the modern day (for its lasting relevance, 1939 still qualifies as modern day) and is about the petty business of politics rather than waging just wars. Back when it was released 2 years ago, critics, journalists, and actual politicians alike scorned it as being too cynical about the way our government works; while, ironically, in the increasingly tyrant-ruled countries of Europe welcomed its demonstration of democracy at work. And that, amazingly, is what it is - a screwball comedy about one naïve man against an overwhelming political puppet master - a dull lesson in parliamentary procedure with a  devastating stand for a lost cause at its heart. Somebody described it as having the structure and tone (if not the look) of a superhero movie, and so it has; Jefferson Smith is the superhero, a good man broken to his very core but who finds that core and that very brokenness strong enough to withstand.

Wow! Amazing movies. I'm inspired just writing about them! But I noticed an interesting commonality between them this year; they are both about the way our democracy works. They are about the right and duty of every man to stand and use his voice in governance, not for himself alone (certainly!) but "a little looking out for the other guy," as Mr. Smith would have it. They are about how lost causes are sometimes the only ones worth fighting for. About standing up for truth, justice, and the American way. About how, as Ben Gates in "National Treasure" said, "If there's something wrong, those who have the ability to take action have the responsibility to take action." Deep subjects for contemplation!

And maybe that's why, of all patriotic movies, these two are the best in my opinion. The war movies are good - like "Saving Private Ryan" (which I haven't seen), "The Longest Day", the John Waynes, explosions and blood. It's good to remember the men who have given their lives in defense of our country, especially on Memorial Day and Veterans' Day. But on the 4th of July, there is nothing better than to recall what made it up in the first place and is its very stuff and sinew even now.