Avani's Blog: Film Essay

In United States history class, I believe it is absolutely essential to watch movies in order to gain a different perspective on each topic. When watching a movie you have to be looking for the different types of attitudes, critical details, and of course the historical accuracy that is displayed in the film. After watching Glory and Twelve Years a Slave I have acquired the necessary skills to really gain something from watching a movie. Since watching these movies, I now really understand the harshness of slavery.

In the film, Glory, the main character, Robert Shaw, is an abolitionist from Boston. He leads a group of African Americans into battle otherwise known as the 54^th Regiment. A film critic describes it as, “glory, the new, beautifully acted, pageant like movie that tells the story of the Massachusetts 54^th.” The most important thing about this movie is that it shows a different kind of slavery to me. Slavery has always been that a slave owner owns slaves and orders them around. But, in this case, slavery is the cruelty of not being able to be held to the same standard as the white soldiers. This movie has given me a new sense of the different types of slavery. Most parts in Glory are historically accurate. For example, the attack of Fort Wagner, according to a film critic, “comes as close to anything [he has] ever seen on screen to capturing the chaos and brutality that were particular to the Civil War battles.” In other words, the director does such a good job of showing how harsh the siege of Fort Wagner was that it makes the viewer feel like they are actually in the movie. Now, I know it is difficult for a director to put many years of events into less than two hours but this director has done a great job depicting the truth of the Massachusetts 54^th in that small amount of time. Edward Zwick, the director, did such a good job with this movie that it made $63,661 in only the first weekend in just three locations. The movie's total gross was $26,828,365, which is great considering the movie's budget was only $18 million. This movie was nominated for an Oscar four times but won many other awards including, best cinematography, best sounds, and best supporting role actor. Overall, this movie has provided me with a new attitude towards slavery and a different perspective on the many types of slavery.

Twelve Years a Slave is an “old-fashioned, Hollywood-style engagement” that has shown me a different perspective on slavery. In full honesty, I did not think slavery was as bad as it was displayed in this movie. This movie showed me that slavery was harsh, brutal, and rude. But, slavery was only bad for African Americans therefore the “owners” were living a great life ordering these people around. And, as bad as this sounds this is the image that Twelve Years a Slave has given me. It really has shown me the true colors of slavery. This movie is rated R but if you do not focus on the “bad” parts of slavery then you do not really understand the true concept of slavery. And, I will admit at times it was hard to watch this movie, it was hard to know that people have been torturing others like this, but it was the truth. The truth is why movies are so important. In a textbook, it is all facts, but in a movie it is facts mixed with the truth of how something really was. This movie, according to a New York Times critic is, “a desperate path and a story that seizes you almost immediately with a visceral force.” In other words, this movie shows how brutal slavery was to the point where you do not want to stop watching. Another film critic describes this movie as, “a harrowing, unforgettable drama.” This film has received so many awards you could not count them on one hand. Awards such as, best motion picture of the year, best writing, best leading actor, best performance by an actress in a supporting role, etc. The point of showing you the different types of awards is so that you realize how well crafted the movie is as a whole. It is not just the script that is well written, it is the actors who play the parts, it is the cameramen who capture the beautiful shots, and it is the director who plans each scene out to each and every last minuscule detail. This movie has done so well it made $187,733,702 in showings worldwide. This movie is also historically accurate. For example, when a slave is leaving the plantation they need a note to leave. So in the movie when Solomon is running an errand for the slave owner, he is wearing a “necklace” with a “pass” on it. It also shows how when slave owners needed money they would “rent” out their slaves to other plantation owners for a fee. The last thing the movie shows extremely well is when buying a slave, the owners would have to feel them and test their physical abilities. Overall, this movie is so sad and devastating that is has given me a new perspective on slavery.

By watching Glory and Twelve Years a Slave I have understood honestly and truthfully how harsh slavery was for African Americans. I think that by watching movies in history class you can gain more knowledge and become more aware of the topics you are learning about. In conclusion, I think that if you can watch a movie critically and be able to break it down piece-by-piece you will get something out of watching it.