While the Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery, it could not end the ignorance, discrimination, and prejudice against the Black people. During the Civil War, Blacks enlisted in the Union Army to preserve their freedom promised to them in the Emancipation Proclamation. However, many whites found the idea of serving with Blacks to be offensive as they viewed Blacks to be lazy, stupid, and genetically inferior to them and refused to fight alongside Blacks. As a result, the Union decided to create separate regiments for Blacks. Glory (1989) directed by Edward Zwick depicts the struggle of the first Black regiment and how white men such as Colonel Robert Gould Shaw stood with them in their struggle for equity. Colonel Shaw acted by Matthew Broderick takes the audience with him on journey of transform from a naïve boy to a pre-adult and finally manhood and through his eyes the audience understands the internal and external struggles of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment.
The movie opens with a naive Shaw who believes in the equality of all men as promised in the Declaration of Independence. The first scene opens with Shaw and his company marching to Antietam. He is very enthusiastic about being in the military and his strong belief about why their fighting. This is illustrated in his letter home to his mother. Shaw writes “how grand it is to meet the men from all the states, east and west...ready to fight for their country...as the old fellows did in the Revolution. But this time we must make it a whole country...for all whom live here, so that all can speak”. The viewer realizes Shaw truly believes that all men are equal regardless of color and is willing to fight and die for his beliefs. In addition, the viewer can see that Shaw has...
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...ough his example that no matter what happens he and his men are willing to sacrifice their lives not just to unify nation, but also that all men are equal.
In closing, the movie was a well-directed and produced film. It clearly shows how black and white men from two different worlds come to respect and accept each other through the horrors of war as equals, brothers, and comrades in arms. In addition, the actors, music selection, and the movie's historical portrayal give the viewer the feel of being a part of the 54th regiment. Furthermore, the movie provides the viewer a realistic representation of how these men lived and died. The men of the 54th regiment made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom and in restoring a shattered nation. Therefore, I understand the movie receiving the nomination for best picture and it will defiantly be a classic for years to come.
Glory is an American War film produced in 1989. The movie is about the first all-African-American regiment to be a part of the Union Army during the American Civil War. It is based upon letters written by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, who was the commanding officer in charge of the first African America regiment. The regiment was known as the 54th Massachusetts, and it is famous for the heroic actions that took place during the Battle of Fort Wagner, where Colonel Shaw volunteered his men to lead the charge. Although there were many casualties and the battle was not successful, the 54th Massachusetts’ bravery led the Union to accept thousands of African American men into their ranks which helped the Union win the war. In many parts of the film,
Shaw envisions the loss he had at Tatum when he trains these men. These men have never experienced man to man combat before and are not prepared to handle most situations. Robert enforces all the same regulations that the other regiments go by in the Union. The pride of these black soldiers kept them from accepting the lesser salary offered and they chose for no payment as did their leader Shaw. Robert fights for his men’s dignity every step of the way from demanding decent shoes to threatening the Major with exposure to the President if he doesn’t allow his companies participation in the war.
The movie “Glory” tells the history and the story of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry. It became the first black regiment to fight for the North in the Civil War. The Regiment was made up of black soldiers – some were Northern freemen, some were escaped slaves. The leader was General Robert Gould Shaw, the son of Boston abolitionists. The men of the 54th Regiment proved themselves worthy of the freedom for which they fighting, and the respect of their fellow white soldiers.
We see the unfairness that was demonstrated to blacks whether it was on the battlefield or the sports field. There are all these hardships that black soldiers and athletes have to endure before others are able to see what exactly the capabilities of the black characters being portrayed. I believe that these actions are due to the blindness that society had for blacks and thought of them as a lower class in society. Today, many former soldiers like retired General Colin Powell and athletes like Michael Jordan are very much looked up to as being a higher class. I think in the next 10 to 20 years we will see documentaries made about these two gentlemen and we will still see some hardship that they endured due to the color of their skin. The unfortunate part is that society as a whole thinks still to this day that those of different color still belong into a particular class whether higher or
The movie Glory is the story of the first African American military unit which fought during the Civil War. This powerful story is told through the eyes of the unit’s leader, Colonel Robert Shaw. The director, Edward Zwick, uses a number of important scenes expressing growth, patriotism and leadership. Whenever there was an obstacle that the 54th regiment needed to overcome faith seemed to be the answer. Faith in their fellow man, faith in their country and faith in God.
Blades of Glory, directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck, is a hilarious comedy that turns figure skating into one big joke. This movie was so over-the-top, it was over over-the-top, but it kept the whole theater laughing throughout the entire movie, which is exactly what it was made to do.
The military since the Colonial Era has been an impetus for social reform in the United States. The Revolutionary War afforded Black Americans an opportunity to escape from the toils of slavery and fight for freedom. Some Black Americans even earned their freedom by fighting for the Colonists, but still the freedom they fought for wasn’t their own. However, the military was responsible for the freedom of many slaves and some of these freed slaves became legendary soldiers like Salem Poor. His performance in battle gave credibility for future arguments about blacks being allowed to serve.
...oung American men had to endure from the time that they had joined back in their boot camp days, and the brutality of war that showed them no mercy. To me the importance of the movie was to show what truly went on over in Vietnam through the eyes of a soldiers eyes of what happened, as the film created a very disturbing yet a real picture of The Vietnam War.
During the Civil War, there were people who were extremely prejudiced against the 54th regiment because the soldiers were all different colored skin and the people where used to the idea that different color skinned people worked as slaves. In “Glory,“ Colonel Montgomery, the Sargent that trained and prepared them for war, and the colonel that was in charge of distributing necessities, served as the people who discriminated the African American soldiers. When he was teaching the soldiers how to march, some of them couldn’t tell the difference between left and right. He acted as if all African Americans were uneducated and they were hopeless to teach. Shoes were an essential part of training. Many of the African American soldiers didn‘t even have decent shoes when they enrolled for the war. Naturally, after all the training, their shoes wore down. If the 54th regiment were composed of white soldiers, the department that passed out shoes would already have prepared extra shoes for them. But since the 54th regiment was composed of all African Americans, the regiment was discriminated and there were no extra shoes for them. The other white generals thought the 54th regiment would never go on a battlefield and even if they did, they probably would all die. Therefore there were no extra resources for them. Another fact that there were some racist sentiments was that the African American soldiers only got a $10 pay while the white soldiers got $13.
Glory is a movie that shows how the characters change during the civil war they all became good and honorable men. This movie teaches us that no matter what color or race a person is or what they have been through they will always have what it takes to endure there hardships and become good men, everyone is capable of doing good.
This man went to a nation in dire need of a leader, an optimist, and above all save the country from drowning in it's own feces. The fact of the matter is simple.
The theme in the story is distinct because Shaw “oversimplifies his moral, social, or political problems” (Peden). Ruth tells Mitchell that when her Jewish fr...
Ralph Ellison’s short story, Battle Royal, is mainly an account of the African American struggle for equality and identity. The narrator of the story is an above average youth of the African American community [Goldstein-Shirlet, 1999]. He is given an opportunity to give a speech to some of the more prestigious white individuals. His expectations of being received in a positive and normal environment are drastically dashed when he is faced with the severity of the process he must deal with in order to accomplish his task.
...as his acceptance of his life of poverty and service that serves as an example for us to use as a model for our actions in this world.
By doing this he showed his love for his country, and history itself, he would do everything to the fullest. He raised his family to the best of his ability, he was a good family man, and a hard worker that endured whatever confronted him. This is why he is my hero, because of his strength and his will to make sacrifices.