The main idea of Bataan is that there are several left over men in the Philippines after their platoon was defeated. These men, most of differing cultures, united under Captain Lassiter. These men have never met but stay together because they are all fighting for the end result,
to defeat the enemy. Americanism in this movie is represented as a united group of people, from different backgrounds, all fighting for the same cause, fighting to keep the unity of the group, to keep their lives.
Americanism is how these different ethnic and culture groups of Bataan can set up a functioning home anywhere, even a dense jungle riverbank. This “home” where they waited for the enemy “monkeys” was an example of a miniature society. An example of a few of the different characters of this group are Epps the African American man that is assigned all the worst jobs and Purckett a young all American boy. Purckett stands for all the possibility and chances of America. The group of course has arguments and differences of opinion, just as a society of the same mix would.
This film is a great guide for how society should and could be. Because during the time this film was released, society was still very segregated and biased. This movie shows how different people are able to come together and work as a group, putting aside their differences for a greater good. In my opinion, that is Americanism. Hopefully after people saw this movie they started to understand the direction things are moving. They will realize to accept all kinds of people and learn to work with them. Purckett is the young one that seems to be the least biased and accepts everyone for who they are, he is a symbol of the impressionism of America.