And the Oscar Goes to......The Alamo!

After viewing an older film of “The Alamo” with John Wayne and a more recent version of “The Alamo” with Billy Bob Thornton, I noticed some major differences in the movies and also some colliding information with the correct history that factually occurred. Although no movie portrays 100% fact, I felt that John Wayne’s version was more of an opinionated depict of what happened at the Alamo, and Billy Bob’s was more of a historical movie, although not quite a documentary.
John Wayne may well have meant to give an audience a love story included with historical information about the Alamo, but for someone who has a bit of knowledge of what took place at the battle I felt partly offended by how the heroes were portrayed, or not even mentioned at all. In the motion picture Tejanos were never mentioned as a part of the battle, they were only referred to as poor, underclass and underappreciated civilians. Of course all the major names that everyone who’s heard of the Alamo knows were mentioned like Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, Stephen Austin, Sam Houston, Santa Anna; but names like Navarro and Sequin were only mentioned to give a name to the wrongfully portrayed Tejanos in the film. Another wrong doing on John Wayne’s part was that the Alamo was never secluded in factual history. The bar scene was good for entertainment in the movie, but never has history shown that Crockett, along with his men, rode to San Antonio to a bar to have a few drinks. By watching this movie, I have come to realize that John Wayne was more focused on making an entertaining film than really showing a historical film.
In Billy Bob Thornton’s version of “The Alamo” there was much more historical facts shown although not always politically correct, this was the closest to what really happened at the Alamo. Even though this edition was seen through a diary which could possibly have been where some information was found, but very doubtful, the characters were depicted very close to what history tells us. Before watching these films, Ms. Ornelas explained that many historians were on site for this film to help directors and producers get a better accurate sense of what happened at the battle of the Alamo. Although Thornton was also interested in making a movie that would entertain many, I believe that his sole purpose was to educate and get the facts out there for people to see. Tejanos were represented much better in this film than in John Wayne’s version. Although Wayne’s was more entertaining and humorous at times, Thornton’s edition was more eye-catching because it was the more accurate version.
As many people believe that Anglos were the solitary heroes, and population at the battle of the Alamo, Tejanos and Mexicans were as big a part as the Anglos. Most historians that spread their knowledge to others give a very biased opinion of what happened and who the heroes were. We all agree that Santa Anna was a dictator who seemed inhumane at times, but Navarro and Seguin, along with many others, were brave, passionate men who deserve to acknowledged for the heroic events they took part in. Movies will always portray an entertaining scene or two, so books will always be our best resource, aside from people, for an education on the Alamo. The entertainment companies may announce that the Oscar goes to John Wayne or Billy Bob Thornton for their roles in “The Alamo”, but the real Oscar goes to ALL the heroes of the REAL Alamo.

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