ALAMY
Few stories are as powerful as the ones America tells. These stories are filled with bravery, resilience and courage.
The American Revolution was portrayed through the musical “1776,” period dramas like “John Adams” and “Turn” and powerful epics like “The Patriot.” Mel Gibson later returned to the trenches to direct Andrew Garfield in “Hacksaw Ridge” and star in “We Were Soldiers.” Oliver Stone focused on the Vietnam War twice in “Platoon” and “Born On The Fourth Of July,” and Tom Cruise starred in many patriotic pleasers like the high-flying “Top Gun” and the courtroom drama “A Few Good Men.” Aaron Sorkin, meanwhile, has written several stories about the Oval Office, from “The West Wing” to “The American President.”
World War II had its moment on the big screen multiple times, whether it was in Terrence Malick’s “The Thin Red Line,” Clint Eastwood’s “Flags Of Our Fathers” or Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan.” Tom Hanks was so inspired by that film that he collaborated with Spielberg on the Emmy Award-winning series “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific.”
Tense thrillers like “American Sniper,” “Zero Dark Thirty” and “The Outpost” portray more modern-day conflicts, and Mark Wahlberg is caught up in a few of them with “Lone Survivor” and “Patriot's Day.” But if President Whitmore says anything that rings true, it is that our independence is always worth fighting for.