Not too long ago, Hollywood produced movies that displayed American values using American dollars. These movies were about family values, strong morals and the ideals America was founded on.

Nowadays, a common theme among films is to be a rebel. Conspiracy theories, underdogs overthrowing a corrupt company, documentaries detailing the evils of America and reporters bringing down government corruption are the movies being displayed in theaters. Combined with news outlets providing heavy coverage of violence, poverty and despair, it seems that now one cannot be a modern hero and a country-loving American at the same time.

This is not to say these movies are all bad. On the contrary, some of them are pretty entertaining at first. But to claim these movies are progressive and somehow the new mold for movies simply is wrong.

These movies and documentaries are painting a picture for the world to see that America is now a place of uncertainty and danger, where individuals constantly must fight to overthrow the existing structure. This image is not the truth and makes our country look bad. These movies might be entertaining to some, but they are not and never will be classics. It is time for producers to step up and return to films that show this country for what it really is: a land of both hardship and opportunity. A land with challenges, but one that still is the greatest in the world.

Movies that center on the problems in the U.S. are not always produced by anti-American producers. More often than not, the studios creating the films are simply giving the American audience what it has been demanding recently. I looked up the highest grossing documentaries and sure enough, Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11,” the highly opinionated, anti-American perspective on the 9/11 terrorist attacks, came in at number one.

Further down the list, at 28, was “Bowling for Columbine,” Moore’s critique of America’s love of guns and supposed love of violence. Watching it on YouTube — so Moore would not profit from me — I appreciated a few points. Between 1990 and 1998, the violent crime rate in local communities has gone down 20 percent, but the media coverage of such crimes has gone up 600 percent. This is just one example of how our country is being demonized by some — in this case, news organizations — to make a profit.

I’m hoping along with all this self-hating xenocentrism, there is some equal representation. Every time someone critiques the U.S., there should be someone there to defend it. Questioning authority is the most patriotic thing a citizen can do. When we as a people cease to question, cease to protest, cease to use the inherent freedom of speech endowed by our creator, we cease to be American. But that freedom comes with the responsibility to love your country for what it is, not to criticize it for what it is not. Rather than referring to China regarding its economy, or Switzerland and its health care or South Korea for its educational structure, look to America for what it has done and is continuing to do for its people. We are not those countries and never will be.

Our government was founded to manage commerce, collect taxes and provide for the common defense, and it will continue to do so. It has undergone many changes, often to adapt to a changing world, and that is good. But to try to turn America into something it is not, whether it be through public opinions via media or calls for radical restructuring of our economic system through protests, is to try and accomplish the impossible.

Many things have changed in the United States in its history, but one thing that has not changed is patriotism. Though it seems to be waning in Hollywood and among many young people, there remains a strong base of underrepresented Americans who cling to the values this country is built upon: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Those Americans will not allow the purpose of government to change, no matter how movies and media portray our country. Those Americans will continue to think about what it means to be one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Those Americans will continue to feel proud, safe and happy living in a country that was and is built upon freedom, enriched by innovation and sustained through patriotism; rather than the social war zone the media paints it to be.

Jameson Joyce is a State News guest columnist and James Madison freshman. Reach him at joyceja1@msu.edu.