Rough Riders Essay, Research Paper

The movie ” Rough Riders” was about the U.S. Calvary during Spanish American war. The main character is Teddy Roosevelt and he is a crazy general. The calvary consists of all kinds of men. Some are East Coast upper class men, others range from bounty hunters to cowboys, thieves, and Indians. One of the rich men is tricked into getting on an unbroken horse, but manages to stay on because of his polo skills. He quickly proves that they are not weak. During the training the General trues to make sure that they remain wild and are not reformed too much. This gives the calvary a uniqueness to the rest of the army. One of the ivy leaguers fathers donated them a rapid firing gun. They also each get their own rifles that were very good for the time. In the short time that they have to train their general tries to make these civilized men into killers. He has them shoot and bash in watermelons. In the beginning they are hesitant to hit these giant fruits, but by the end they really whop them. After there training they move to Florida where they prepare to depart for Cuba. The Spanish view of them is vegetarian midgets. I think that this stereotype would give them a big advantage. The American view of the Spanish is that they are drunken rapists. This stereotype was to get the calvary to think of them as savage and make it easier to kill them. When they got to Cuba they had to attack along with other units in a strategic maneuver. They had to go though the dense forest and attack the Spanish. The first Spaniard that they encounter is in a tree and is shot just before he is able to shoot them. A few of the men are killed during this battle including one of the really rich men. He dies with honor because his last words show his concern for other soldiers. He asks the man next to him if he was all right after getting hit with the same bullet. One man completely panics when the man infront if him is shot. He ran away screaming retreat. Through the movie young Roosevelt shows his developing leadership qualities. In the beginning of the film he has trouble ordering others and shouting, but by midway through he is a very good leader.

This movie shows how Americans wanted to dominate their continent during the progressive era. It shows how devoted every kind of citizen was, to helping their country. Each soldier had relatively nothing to gain by fighting, but everything to loose. They risked their lives for their country. The armies consisted of a very diverse group of Americans from criminals to politicians. They all fought for the same cause. Most of the soldiers get along better than expected and become a good team. They are all very optimistic and show a good attitude towards the war. They joke and have a lot of fun during their training period. The commanding officer lets them stay wild because he thinks that it will help them during the war. The movie also shows how one of our best presidents came to power. This movie shows what Roosevelt did to become a war hero in the eyes of the public. Before I saw this film I had no idea what Teddy Roosevelt was like. This film portrayed him as easy going, and very excitable. I think that this movie is interesting to watch and also shows the ideas and lifestyle of the period.