The Alamo

[amedia]

Thoughts on The Alamo. I suppose they'd be spoilery, but y'all DO know that everybody dies, right? It's like Titanic - everybody knows the big ship is gonna go down at the end.



The movie is obviously set up to be very heroic and larger-than-life, but all the palaver about freedom and liberty grates on the ear when you know that one of the reasons Stephen F. Austin wanted Texas to be independent from Mexico was that slavery was illegal in Mexico and SFA wanted to form Texas' economy on the slave-plantation model. Not one word about that. There is one scene in which Jim Bowie frees his elderly slave and tries to send him away to safety, but the old man stays out of loyalty and dies trying to protect his former master, which is either sort of touching or sort of appalling. It's pretty clear, however, that Bowie wants to free this particular slave as a reward for his devotion; he doesn't display any moral qualms about slavery in general.

The movie doesn't show any Hispanic people defending the Alamo, although there should have been some. The good guys in the battle aren't just the guys in the white hats; they're the guys with the white skins. The only Hispanic people we see are some local inhabitants and Santa Anna's army.

This brings us to the curiously non-skanky race issue. Think of a typical Western and picture how Mexican characters are typically portrayed, dozing outside the saloon with the sombrero and the poncho and the whiny fake accent. (eeewww) In The Alamo, the Hispanic Mexican* characters are chiefly represented by Santa Anna's army. They are impeccably uniformed, crisply drilled, and impressively courageous; the Alamo defenders praise their skills and bravery. They display gallantry in delaying the battle so that women and children may leave safely, and rather than taking them hostage, provide them transportation. They speak flawless English with genuine, elegant accents.

Of course, making your enemy look good is a typical strategy to make your own army look better. But it was still a noteworthy and sadly unusual representation.

Race issues skanky and non-skanky aside, a surprisingly small portion of the movie actually dealt with Teh Big Battle - maybe the last half-hour or so. The first two+ hours were spent on character and relationships, especially the relationships among Col. Travis, Davy Crockett, and Jim Bowie. Travis and Bowie clearly hate each other both personally and professionally; whenever they're in the same room you can just feel the tension WHICH DOES NOT PUSH ANY OF MY SLASHY BUTTONS NO SIRREE because after all they were real people even if they did glower at each other in a remarkably hot sort of way. Everybody respects Davy Crockett, though, because he is John Wayne (and I suppose also because he is Davy Crockett), so he gets to be the peacemaker.


*Technically, the "Texicans" defending the Alamo were also Mexicans at this time period, hence the added qualifier.

Comments

[neohippie.livejournal.com]

I actually thought the remake was better (and a wee bit more historically accurate), but nobody else liked it but me. :-(

[nonniemous.livejournal.com]

You know, I lived in Texas until I was almost twelve, had umpteen years of Texas history shoved down my throat in school (and read more by choice), and yet I never knew that the second name on the Texas declaration of Independence was that of a Hispanic Texan until about two years ago. That's a sad commentary on the retconning of the history by the victors, isn't it?

All that said, I have always had a soft spot for that original movie, because it was about the characters more than the battle. But I haven't had the heart to see the newer remake of it.

[shawan-7.livejournal.com]

I saw the new remake when I was in Calif. about 2 years ago, and enjoyed it a lot.

Still - it's not a topic I spend much time looking at.