Glory Film Paper
HMXP
Mr. Stokes
November 3, 2013
Glory
For many Americans, the Civil War is but a distant event in our nation’s past, remembered only for the sake of passing an exam or impressing your peers at a dinner party. While this pivotal war may have taken place generations before us, its significance reverberates even today. Within this war fueled by racial disagreements and political issues, one platoon stood up against the waves of injustice to boldly fight for their inalienable rights. When filmmaker Edward Zwick set out to capture the trials and tribulations of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, the first exclusively black unit in the US Army, he arguably created one of the finest, thought-provoking Civil War films of all time. Edward Zwick’s film “Glory” embodies what is perhaps the greatest testament of human sacrifice; the war that divided a nation. The film “Glory” is told from the perspective of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry commanding officer, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Broderick). After being injured in an especially brutal battle, Shaw returns home to his family and other affluent members of the Union. While on leave in Boston, Colonel Shaw is offered the unique position of commanding the 54th. After reluctantly accepting, he begins to recruit and train the first African-American infantry unit. His first recruit was an educated African-American named Thomas Searles (Andre Braugher), a close friend of Shaw. Together they set off, and as history would show, Shaw was forever changed by this unprecedented opportunity; not only as a military commander, but as a person. Much like David Bohm once said, “The ability to perceive or think differently is more important than the knowledge gained.” Robert Shaw, through initiating the 54th Infantry, replaced prejudice with a new perception.
Despite their status as an official military unit, the 54th Infantry faced injustice around every turn, from racial slurs and pay cuts to
Mr. Stokes
November 3, 2013
Glory
For many Americans, the Civil War is but a distant event in our nation’s past, remembered only for the sake of passing an exam or impressing your peers at a dinner party. While this pivotal war may have taken place generations before us, its significance reverberates even today. Within this war fueled by racial disagreements and political issues, one platoon stood up against the waves of injustice to boldly fight for their inalienable rights. When filmmaker Edward Zwick set out to capture the trials and tribulations of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, the first exclusively black unit in the US Army, he arguably created one of the finest, thought-provoking Civil War films of all time. Edward Zwick’s film “Glory” embodies what is perhaps the greatest testament of human sacrifice; the war that divided a nation. The film “Glory” is told from the perspective of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry commanding officer, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Broderick). After being injured in an especially brutal battle, Shaw returns home to his family and other affluent members of the Union. While on leave in Boston, Colonel Shaw is offered the unique position of commanding the 54th. After reluctantly accepting, he begins to recruit and train the first African-American infantry unit. His first recruit was an educated African-American named Thomas Searles (Andre Braugher), a close friend of Shaw. Together they set off, and as history would show, Shaw was forever changed by this unprecedented opportunity; not only as a military commander, but as a person. Much like David Bohm once said, “The ability to perceive or think differently is more important than the knowledge gained.” Robert Shaw, through initiating the 54th Infantry, replaced prejudice with a new perception.
Despite their status as an official military unit, the 54th Infantry faced injustice around every turn, from racial slurs and pay cuts to
Cited: Bandura, Albert. "Moral Disengagement." N.p., n.d. Web. David Bohm. S.l.: S.n., 1982. Print. Du Bois, W.E.B. The Souls of Black Folk. New York: Modern Library, 1996. Print. Glory. Dir. Edward Zwick. Perf. Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, and Jacques Raymond St. Tri-Star Pictures, 1989. Plato. The Allegory of the Cave. [Brea, CA]: P & L Publication, 2010. Print.