Essay on American Revolution in Popular Culture - 1

On American Revolution in Popular Culture - Essay Example It was a bitter experience for those who lived then. This made the fight for freedom and the eventual freedom even sweeter. There is a lot of material in popular culture that seeks to re-create the events back then. One of these novels is Saratoga: A Novel of the American Revolution. The writer is David Garland. This novel was published in the year 2006. At the very beginning, the novel starts in May 19771. The colonies, which today make the United States, unilaterally declare their independence from the Crown. This is obviously not a situation to be treated lightly on the part of the British. They organize a military response that is less than effective. Their initial assumption was that they could easily crush the uprising by isolated groups of revolutionaries. However, they are met by more resistance than they anticipated. The main character in the novel is Captain Jamie Skoyles, a soldier attached to the 24th Foot of the British army. He is a seasoned fighter. One of the interferences of popular culture in as far as the factual depiction of this war in the novel is concerned is a love affair that Skoyles is embroiled in with Elizabeth Rainham who is already engaged. This is a constant feature in popular culture. The need to romanticize war is very prevalent in popular culture. It stems from the fact that romance attracts audiences that naturally would not be drawn to war. These might include women. The rigours of war when soothed by a strong love affair seem bearable. Skoyles is also depicted attending and even meting out floggings to errant soldiers and even enemy combatants. This is an image that has been invented by popular culture. There is the belief that the most effective soldier is the one who does not shy away from violence. This popular culture construct is alive and well today. There are soldiers to day who are rewarded with the nation’s highest honors’ for performing extraordinary and fearless acts. One that comes to mind is that of a