I very strongly believe that the study of film in US History can teach so much more than what is in a textbook. It teaches students to make correlations between the culture of film and American history. These films aren’t pure entertainment, some scenes are a struggle to watch, they thrust empathy upon the audience, to help us to understand the true stories. The films Glory and 12 Years a Slave are both stories that would often be glanced over by a history textbook.
Preceding my first viewing of the film, Glory, in the 8th grade, I thought the Civil War was white men from the south fighting white men from the north. I thought that no one on the north had any slaves and everyone in the south was a cruel slave owner. I had never been exposed to any stories to know any better. All I had was what a middle school textbook told me. Following my second viewing of the film, with more matured eyes, I discovered that there is so much more to the story of the 54th Massachusetts regiment. Some of these men were runaway slaves, some free men willing to fight. All of these African American men led by white officers was so groundbreaking, if not to many other people than abolitionists, most certainly all of these men. The film really shows how powerful and meaningful it was for these men to be able to fight. Edward Zwick, the director of Glory, said in an interview, “The coming together of the regiment, in all its aspects.”
Another film that opens the eyes about this time in history is 12 Years a Slave. The film’s director, Steve McQueen had grandparents who were descendants of slaves. So this story was personal to the director, and with his personal connection came his inspiration to tell the story of Solomon Northup to its fullest and most accurate. McQueen did a brilliant job with this story, seeing as it won 3 of the 9 Oscars it was nominated for, and 1 of the 7 golden globes it was nominated for.
McQueen went into the process of making the film by just knowing that he wanted to tell the story of free African American people living in the north that were kidnapped and sold into slavery. McQueen had no idea what story to tell until his wife discussed the true story of 12 Years a Slave with him. He knew just then that this was the story that he wanted to tell.
Both of these stories were absolutely brilliant in the way they were shown in film. With the time periods being having an overlap, the stories themselves overlap. Frederick Douglass an extremely active abolitionist is the link in the history. Douglass had 2 sons in the 54th regiment, and he co authored the novel 12 Years a Slave with Solomon Northup and Harriet Beecher Stowe.
These films aren’t just stories to entertain, they are truths both beautiful and ugly which should not be ignored. The study of film is one of the best ways to look into the past and understand the history of our country.Sources:
