The Last of the Mohicans

The Last of the Mohicans

Michael Mann represented the historical events leading up to, during and after the French and Indian War in his film "Last of the Mohicans" in a lot of ways. I was very impressed with how accurately he depicted how people were dressed and their characters personalities. For example, it struck me how proper, clean and uniformed the red coats of the British and the blue coats of the French were, and in how in contrast the Indians were so simply dressed. What also caught my eye was the hopelessness shown in the militia and how people were just caught in the middle and how this was demonstrated in their dress as well. For example, the British telling the militia, who were basically a bunch of farmers that they had to prove their loyalty to England without question. The French and the British seemed so sure of their decisions, almost blind faith. This simple yet important detail demonstrated how war affects people and cultures on such a personal basis. The decisions of a few can affect many. Magwa makes references in the film over and over to that the fact that "white hairs" seeds don't go on. This was very important to him. In his mind, he felt that if he ended that one man's seeds, it would some how bring him justice for the injustice that previous battles had caused him personally.

I also found Mann's portrayal of the Fort William Henry massacre and how the French appeared to be so civilized when negotiating with the British, only for the British to be massacred when they left the fort very interesting. He left you wondering if the French just didn't let the Indians carry out their dirty work in order to perpetuate the Indian stereotype of savagery. Another interesting representation of an historical event would be in the scene "A Call to Arms" when the characters refer to Albany and obviously the Albany Plan of Union. It was a very powerful and yet simple demonstration to see all of the affected parties come together to voice their concerns regarding the future. The last scene in the movie when the Nathanial's father is talking about him being "The Last of the Mohicans" was very powerful as well representing that there will always be new struggles, different hardships, different wars, but always death from generation to generation. Mann did an excellent job of showing the effects of war on everyone