The Feel For Freedom: Glory

Warning: The following film is in fact rated R for some somewhat bloody violence and the N-word. May also contain spoilers.

   Even though ETF wouldn't normally do rated R films, this film, entitled Glory, has impressive themes and features that that the writer of ETF couldn't help but write about. As said above, the film does contain violence, given the fact that this is a war film. Violence such as seeing from behind, a man's face/head being blasted off. The language is questionable, such as the N-word, and the F-bomb being dropped at least once. 
    Anyway, Glory takes place in the late American Civil War. It is also based on the true story of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, the first black soldiers in America. 

    Once upon a time, Captain Robert Gould Shaw was chosen as Colonel to lead the 54th Massachusetts Regiment. Throughout the film, the men face will racism and intense hardships. They face all this while waiting to go into battle, but they have only been used for manual labor. These men have to learn and grow together along the way. Some don't think black men are capable of fighting. Will they be able to eventually fight for their freedom, or will they be denied the glory they've been longing for?

     The actors did a stunning job on the characters they portrayed in the film. Matthew Broderick, (Shaw), was able to act with the character of a man who was not used to working with black men besides his lifelong friend Thomas, who was free. By the end of the film, Captain Shaw has developed a relationship with his men that was unusual. They become very loyal and respectful of him, including one of the men named Trip. When Robert was shot before their eyes, you can see the deep shock and emotional affect it had on them. Trip, in the beginning, was a hateful  person and didn't have much respect for Robert or the others. At the end of the film, Robert and Trip are put right next to other in the same mass grave. This represents the relationship they developed, even as they died for the same thing.
       

       The white people and the black people in Glory have very different roles and thus, different behaviors. The actors who played the black people at the time had to be able to portray people who had been treated as inferior for the majority of their lives. They also needed to show great enthusiasm and hope. The black folk at the time most likely had a constant but tired hope that things for them would indeed get better and that they would be free. 
        The role of the white man is a different story. Most of them at that time had a much better life than that of the colors. Some of those actors had to demonstrate the characteristic of being prideful. Two characters that are not like this are Robert and his best friend in the military, Cabot Forbes. Seeing the horrors of the Civil War has humbled them, more so Robert than Forbes. Why this doesn't seem to affect the other military officers we are not sure. 

         Why it's called Glory: Before the war, the "Negro" had rarely been treated well, often being frowned upon. Now they have been given the opportunity to fight against that. The first sense of glory in the film is when after a Confederate proclamation was read to the entire Regiment saying that if they're captured in battle, they will be returned to slavery or put to death. Everyone stayed. Robert had expected many of them to leave in fear. The morning after the proclamation was read he simply said, "Glory hallelujah," upon seeing that no one had left. The next moment of glory is when the men finally receive their uniforms, and are marching down the street. All of the people are cheering and waving the flag for them, something that makes these men feel very proud. The best is the opening to the climax. Knowing the regiment's will to fight and despite that many lives will be lost if he does so, Robert volunteers himself and the regiment to lead the attack on Fort Wagner. As the 54th Massachusetts Regiment marches down to the beach, they pass other troops that will later follow them in the attack. These troops cheer on the men of the 54th. The white man that started cheering for them first was a the man who had earlier harassed them. But now we suspect that he and the others are moved by the men of the 54th's bravery and cheers for them, making these Negro men feel a glory that they have seldom felt before.

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