Blogging US History: Film Essay

Madi Smith

Film Essay

Learning history through text book readings only can prove to be a boring way to learn for most people. By diversifying the way that a student learns, a teacher can help improve the amount of information a student, like myself, can retain after each lesson. By using movies as an addition to textual reading and research, I’ve been able to paint a clearer picture of the topic we are currently studying—The Civil War.

During first quarter we watched Glory, best described by the director as “a chance to re-examine history.” In this way, Edward Zwick is bringing life to what I would have read in the history text books. By bringing these text books to life with actors, it allows me to see a more realistic version of what went on during the Civil War, thus making it easier for me to strengthen my knowledge and gain new insights and perspectives on the War Between the States. Glory is a perfect example of bring history to life, even Edward Zwick believe that 54^th regiment was an cardinal point in the Civil War, because without the 54^th regiment and others like it the Union might not have won the Civil War. One of my favorite quotes is the tag line to Glory—“Their innocence. Their heritage. Their lives. Nothing would be spared in the fight for their freedom.” It is a clear depiction of what the African American soldiers were fighting for. Though it was only used to be a pick-up line for the movie, it can actually be used to describe what the 54^th regiment was fighting for during the real civil war. This all really goes back to how movies can actually be used as a source of information! Initially I was thought that watching movie for learning really wouldn’t do much, but in reality I’ve solidified my knowledge about the Civil more than I ever did reading boring text books. Mainly because there are perceptible emotions which also make it easier to empathize and understand history on a deeper level.

Emotionally taxing movies by consequence make us think on a deeper level, because we want to understand why it made us feel that way. While learning history it is important to empathize with both sides of the argument, like understanding the position of the Confederates versus the Union soldiers. Deeper than that you could learn to understand the difference of opinion between white Union soldiers and African American Union soldiers or how the whites felt about free blacks and vice versa. The movie 12 Years a Slave, is a recent depiction of the time period post Civil War and is based on a true story and memoir of a free man brought back to slavery and freed once again. The creator of the sound track to 12 Years a Slave said that he wanted to “work on something that…felt [like]…unresolved history.” The word unresolved leads to me to believe that besides missing a part of history you are missing the emotions and the understanding of what a freed man like Solomon was going through. Meaning most people would have only understood the views and opinions of the white men during that time period. Steve McQueen even believed that by telling this story he could reveal a new truth about what actually went on post Civil War. He even left the interpretation to the audience, saying “Just tell them truth on screen, whatever that is.” This lets history students like myself use our analytical skills to decipher the truth in the movies and form a more developed sense of that time period. This can be difficult for most because movies are laced with small changes to help create a more “payer friendly” movie.

Both movies were critically acclaimed movies because of their sensational and heart wrenching plots. None of these movies can be claimed as 100% accurate, but during my research I found that changes made to the movies were in order to create a more well rounded perspective and movie. Glory is a perfect example of this. Edward Zwick, the director, is sometimes ridiculed for having made up the supporting characters in the 54^th regiment, but in reality there were very few personal accounts of African American soldiers leaving him with nothing to make up the regiment. His ability to create the supporting actors and have them blend into the story like they actually existed proved that he understood what a group like the 54^th regiment would have been like. Each character has a different personality to help create diversity in the movie but this also helps a critical thinking student, like myself find different ways to empathize and understand the emotions of that time period. The relationship between Colonel Shaw and his soldiers versus Major Forbes and the regiment paints two different points of view of how black soldiers were treated by their higher-ups and how they empathized with each other.

These two movies are two out of many movies that are clear depictions and great representations of the Civil War. Using these movies as educational materials along with text books and research has helped me retain more knowledge of the Civil War. They have even opened my eyes to new perspectives between different groups in that time period, making it easier for me understand what was actually going on during those tense times.