Although Glory Movie Historical Accuracy

Though Glory is a historical snapshot of the first African American regiment in the Civil War, the movie reflects the African American experience throughout US history, demonstrating progress and the regress for African American individuals. The movie, produced in 1989, was directed by Edward Zwick and starred numerous talented actors, including: Matthew Broderick, as Colonel Shaw, Denzel Washington, as private Tripp, Morgan Freeman, as Sergeant Major Rawlins, and Andre Braugher, as Corporal Thomas Searles. The original writer was Kevin Jarre, who wrote the script from recovered letters by the movie’s protagonist, Colonel Shaw. The movie received numerous awards upon its release and was widely accepted as both historically accurate and entertaining.

The relationships between characters, intensified by racial tensions, were complicated. Thomas and Shaw, childhood friends, were forced to distance themselves, because of Shaw’s role as a colonel. Shaw had to find a balance between being friend and training his troops for a ruthless war. The relationships between the African American soldiers were also complex, demonstrating how not all Americans, nor all African Americans agree. Tripp, a clever ex-slave, and Thomas, a free black, are near opposites at the beginning. Thomas does not appear to be a true soldier, but he eventually proves his worth, and he saves Tripp’s life. Morgan Freeman is the oldest and most mature of the soldiers and he tries to show the way for the younger soldiers. He is promoted to Sergeant by Shaw for his leadership within the troops and he helps Tripp realize that he isn't doing any good trying to pick a fight with the world. He tells Tripp that he must man up and fight for something that is worth fighting

The music and direction was particularly impressive. Throughout the film, music was used as a tool to achieve the desired dramatic effect. During the first scene of the movie, Shaw is ready for battle, so the music is upbeat; however, when the battle begins and the South begins attacking, the music becomes ominous before the sounds of explosions, screams and chaos drown out the drums. The music mirrors the chaos and panic that Shaw is experiencing. Music is also utilized in the film to emphasize happy moments. Before going down South to fight, the 54th regiment marches in a parade down a city street, where the crowd cheers for them in their professional, blue uniforms. The music is sweet and patriotic, mimicking the cheers of the crowd and creating the right tone for the scene. Just as music is used to set the tone for a particular event, camera angle and the filming technique is used to achieve specific dramatic effects. The camera zooms in on specific faces in the crowd during the parade scene. It shows white folks cheering and clapping their hands. The camera also zooms in on two Black children clapping for the black soldiers. The lighting of the seen is bright and filled with red, white and blue. The lighting is an additional filming aspect utilized to denote the mood of the scene. The filming techniques are used to accentuate the thematic content. The whites are cheering for blacks,