Learning History Through Film

While Glory and Twelve Years a Slave are not completely accurate they still provide a great platform for learning about history because of their visual medium. Film being the visual medium that it is, allows the audience to see and experience what the main character or characters are experiencing by not just telling, but showing. Film can also give audiences more context about the setting not just through visuals, but through sound and music. Watching 12 Years a Slave provides a far different experience than reading it because we have to watch Solomon struggle. Seeing the  While both Glory and Twelve Years a Slave may alter the source material, it does not alter it to the point where it is unrecognizable. Both films add a little fiction to make the stories more appealing or engaging for film audiences, but while some of the material may be false, it is ultimately overshadowed by what the films get right.

Glory is a Civil War movie that tells the story of Robert Shaw and how he leads the first African American regiments. It is based on letters written by Shaw, and many of the characters in the movie are real people like his best friends Thomas and Ford. The movie does add in fictional characters like those played by Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman, but they are there to pose questions to the audience, and help further the story. In Glory we get a glimpse of what it is like for a character like Thomas, a free African American, to interact with others in the regiment who have fled from slavery. Denzel’s character Tripp constantly gets into fights with Thomas because he believes Thomas is delusional for thinking he can “be like the white man.” Films like Glory can show us not only the dynamic within the troops, but also between a Colonel and his soldiers. Brodericks scene with Washington’s helps illustrate the racial dynamics at play. When Shaw asks Tripp why he refuses to carry the flag, Tripp responds saying when the war is over Shaw gets to go home, but where does he go? Movies can show the audience different perspectives through the eyes of characters from all walks of life. The film also uses music from the time, proper weapons, and period accurate uniforms. Glory adds in fictional characters, but depicts both the setting and strategies of the Civil War extremely well. Films like Glory teach more than any textbook ever could because of all the different ways it immerses the audience.

Twelve Years a Slave takes place in the Old South, and showcases what slavery was like in the 1800s. The film gives an interesting perspective on slavery by showing it to us through the eyes of Solomon Northup a freeman turned slave. It shows what his life was like both before to humanize him, so that when he is captured we experience the jarring shift with him.  The audience is not  just told about Solomon’s suffering, they are forced to watch every experience from the whipping to the hanging. A fairly accurate recreation of a slave market is also shown when Solomon is sold off. The film does not take sides, and shows how slavery was not one dimensional. Ford clearly tries to keep families together, and recognizes the cruelty of slavery, but he also has to pay off his debts and slave labor is his cheapest way of doing it. Epps is a far crueler owner, and obviously has no problems with slavery. While some of the scenes like the boat scene, and the scene in which Patsey asks Solomon to kill her are not completely factual, they do not detract from the vast amount of information the film gets right. Twelve Years a Slave is one of the few films that actually focuses on slavery, and it paints a realistic picture of what slavery is like.

While filmmakers tend to take some creative liberties with historical films, they still are one of the few mediums where you can get to see what was happening. Photographs can give can give you an idea, but films put you in the moment. No other form of media employs more elements than film, and  it is for that reason that it is a great platform for learning about history.

Works Cited

The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.

Canby, Vincent. "Review/Film; Black Combat Bravery in the Civil War." The New York Times. The New York Times, 13 Dec. 1989. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.

Dargis, Manohla. "The Blood and Tears, Not the Magnolias." The New York Times. The New York Times, 17 Oct. 2013. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.

Ebert, Roger. "Glory Movie Review & Film Summary (1989) | Roger Ebert." All Content. Freddie Fields, 12 Jan. 1990. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.

Paraphasing 12 Years a Slave Review

Of course the language and violence in 12 Years a Slave makes you wince, but the brutality here is as sleek as a knitting needle, and slips between your ribs to get at you somewhere deep, beyond simple expressions of disgust or disbelief. McQueen has no intention of turning his film into a Western liberal guilt-trip — he doesn’t have to. What we see speaks for itself. The entire nation, south and north alike, is in the grip of communal insanity. Original Article

This review of 12 Years a Slave written by Robbie Collin states that the film paints a gritty realistic picture of what African American slavery was like in the South. The film does this not only through dialogue, but also through some of its over the top scenes. Director Stevie McQueen gives weight to scenes by forcing the viewer to watch each brutal scene for just a little longer than they're comfortable with. It showcases that both the North and the South in states of chaos, and that it is rough all over.