Alamo Essay

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The battle for independence of Texas from Mexico, also known as “The Alamo”, was a battle between the Mexican forces led by General Santa Anna and the American defenders led by Davy Crockett, James Bowie and William Travis. Even though being vastly outnumbered, the Alamo’s defenders stayed and fought for 13 day until they were defeated on March 6, 1836 with now survivors (Milford, 2013). Even with the short duration of the battle, and the few firsthand accounts, this battle has become to be known as one of the greatest battles in American history, specifically in Texas, becoming a large source of pride and unity for the state. Many films, books, documentaries, etc. have been created to depict the great battle at the Alamo, many of which creating their own historical facts along the way to bring emotion to the story and to continue to make the story larger than it is. Like Ellis said, “Filmmakers start with the basic concepts and conventions, but tweak them to make them appealing to their audience” (Ellis, 2013, pg.2). Specifically, the film “The Alamo” released in 2004 starring many famous Hollywood actors. This film significantly depicts this battle much more epically than was known throughout history, creating emotional story lines, and connections between characters which have no historical background. This film notably uses history and changes it specifically with its depiction of Davy Crockett and his antics, and also in general history of the battle itself including speeches, deaths, and characters. Firstly, Davy Crockett was a well-known American through folk tales and as a frontiersman, he fought in other significant American battles, but died at the battle of the Alamo on the 13th day. While his exact cause of death is unknown since there is no specific accounts, the film “The Alamo” shows Davy Crockett as being the last man alive as a prisoner to the Mexican army, it continues on to show Crockett giving a speech to the Mexican army just before he is killed in a hero like manner. This depiction of Crockett’s death is clearly false, but with the films use of inspirational music, and depiction of a brave Davy Crockett, this becomes very appealing to the viewer and many would find themselves believing this as truth, especially if the viewer is of American decent. Also, throughout the film Crocket is continuously 2 shown as a major force in the battle of the Alamo. In one scene Crockett plays his violin on top of the building just before the Mexican forces would usually begin to shoot cannons at them, this was seen as an act of heroism and brought moral to his troops, becoming one of the most memorable scenes of the movie. Clearly, this did not happen but it brought about an attachment to this character from the viewer’s standpoint, as did many other Crockett moments throughout the movie. Lastly, in one scene of the movie Davy Crockett brings a group of soldiers outside of the Alamo compound to burn down outside buildings which were being used as cover for some of the Mexican troops. In this scene Crockett is attacked by 3 Mexican soldiers and successfully defends himself, leaving all 3 of them dead. Even though this is historically completely false, this scene brings about a feeling of bravery from Crockett, and makes the story much more appealing to the audience, specifically Texans or Americans. To conclude, this film depicts Davy Crockett as a significant leader and power in the battle of the Alamo, this is used in order to appeal to the audience and bring emotion to the story, when in fact Crocket was actually a minor player in the actual Alamo story (Ellis, 2013, pg.4). In the actual

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