History is incredibly vital for everyone to comprehend. Without doing so, the struggles, the victories, the very essence of life we experience today would be meaningless. Without knowing about the American Revolution, Americans would not properly value the nation like they do now. In order to make oneself familiar with history, movies and books are both fantastic options as they provide enjoyment while enriching the audience with vital information. If someone was to learn about the revolutionary war, they might delve into the movie known as The Patriot which depicted the revolutionary war. However, The Patriot does not provide a substantial wealth of unbiased information regarding the war. Although enjoyable to watch and well crafted, the movie The Patriot is not historically accurate due to the way the British are portrayed, the complete absence of loyalists and the misinterpretation of slaves.

The Patriot is a very entertaining and engaging movie that makes use of the American Revolution to display a story about the effect of war on a family. Sadly, while it satisfies the entertaining aspect of a movie, it is not historically accurate. Discrepancies exist on many fronts from the false depiction of field artillery shooting fire exploding shells when such did not even exist in 1776 all the way to the absence of loyalists, exaggeration of the British, and misunderstanding of slaves and their role in the war and society itself. It is clear how much of a role an “artistic license” played in the movie however, changing key aspects of the war to provide a biased perspective is not a proper utilization of such a license. While writers and directors are free to use their artistic perspectives on certain key elements, changing the crucial points of a major historical event should not be done. As a result, while it is worthwhile to watch The Patriot in order to be thrilled, it is inaccurate on fundamental points of the war.