British Imperialism In Michael Manns's The Last Of The Mohicans

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Michael Manns 1992 depiction of "The Last of the Mohicans" brings to light the resistance to British imperial ideologies and institutions during the French Indian war in 1757. These ideologies and institutions, as well as the resistance to them, is what led to the beginning of the imperial justification of the ideas of "manifest destiny", as well as "the white man 's burden". Those these concepts were only named in the beginning of the 19th century, the film portrays some of the reasons why these concepts came to be. Contrary to the Mohicans, the British are portrayed very negatively throughout the entire film, with the exception of Cora Munro, and the men from the frontier forming the colonial militia. British imperial arrogance and ideologies …show more content…

This shows the beginnings of the idea of manifest destiny, the notion that the colonization of North America was both justified and inescapable. In this scene, it seems as though the British already feel that they are in command of this land, due to them wearing their bright colours boldly, rather than proceeding with caution through the potential territory of their enemies. It shows the imperialist idea that the world is theirs. British imperialist ideas of racism are also evident, such as in the scene where Alice refers to the Native Americans as ‘red men’ (14:45). The most notable example of British imperial ideologies and institutions is their military. Several times we see the leading generals put their loyalty to the crown above what would be deemed morally correct. An example of this is when Hawkeye tells General Munro about the Huron/French attack on the Cameron 's home, and Munro refuses to let the men of the colonial militia leave the base of Fort William-Henry to return home to protect their families (42:25). General Munro deems the considerations of the interests of the men whose families are unprotected …show more content…

Similarly, it is easy to see why these ideologies and institutions were met with such resistance. The British notions that the world would do best to follow in their footsteps, as well as the need to constantly expand their territories, is perhaps what lead to the decline of the British

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