Zoey Davis
Film Essay
H Block
I Pledge
Learning
about slavery has always been an interesting topic for me, but I never truly
understood the visuals of slavery until my US History teacher showed my class
two, very historically accurate films representing the reality of slavery. To show us visuals of historically accurate
slavery remakes, she played “Glory (1989)” directed by Edward Zwick and “12
years a Slave” directed by Steve McQueen. These two films have proven to me the
harshness and reality that was slavery, and these films in no way,
“sugarcoated” slavery. These two films show the harsh reality of what slavery
truly was in America, which caused me to rethink my position on slavery.
When
telling a historic story through a film, the filmmaker comes across a problem.
Filmmakers have to do research to make their films historically accurate and
true. “12 Years a Slave” follows a story of a free black man who was kidnapped
and sold into slavery. According to History Extra, Steve McQueen, the director
of “12 Years a Slave” said, “People want this realism […] It’s not about
sugarcoating it. We’re here to do something we feel is necessary.” Steve
McQueen’s wife introduced him to the memoir of Solomon Northrup, and something
internally struck him, that he needed to tell Solomon Northrup’s story to the
world.” According to the New York Times review of “12 Years a Slave,” McQueen
wanted to immerse people into the visuals of slavery. McQueen wanted to tell
the story as accurately and efficiently as possible to honor Solomon Northrup
and his family. Chiewetel Ejiofor, who played Solomon Northrup in Steve
McQueen’s “12 Years a Slave,” said “To not show it as explicitly as we can
would, I think, be a disservice to Northrup and his family. What’s the point in
telling the story if we couldn’t tell the story?” Not only did McQueen want to
convey the story of Solomon Northrup as accurately as possible, so did the
cast. Dr. Emily West, a critic for the New York Times stated, “I have never
seen a film represent slavery so accurately.” In the story of “12 years a
Slave,” historical accuracy is represented all the way down to the minor
details such as, the scars on the backs of most enslaved people in a tree
formation from being whipped, all the way to the harsh reality of being sold
into slavery. In this film, a scene that primarily stuck out to me, was a scene
where they were auctioning off their new slaves, and had them stripped naked so
slave owners could check for the “quality” of their new piece of property.
The
film “Glory (1989)” follows the story of the black regiment of the
Massachusetts 54th fighting in the battle of Antietam and their
journey along the way. I believe this film taught me a lot about slavery
because it showed the harsh realities of the dangers in racism. This film
showed me that black regiments were treated unfairly and not given good
conditions to thrive in. According to history online, the director of the film
“Glory (1989),” Edward Zwick said “The story appealed to me, and I was lucky to
do it. I did it because I felt it needed to be told.” As well as the story of
“12 Years a Slave” the film “Glory (1989)” told the story in the most efficient
way possible by “acknowledging the sorrow” rather than sugarcoating history.
The film “Glory (1989)” focused on the complexity of racism and the distinct
characteristics of the black regiment. In my opinion, this film was also
successful because of the compassion shown by colonel Shaw. In fact, according
to the New York Times, this film used actual letters from the colonel and were
read verbatim. I believe “Glory” was as successful as it was, because it
acknowledged the colored soldiers as people, and told us their story. By
letting the audience engaged in the lives of this black regiment, Edward Zwick
made the film mean so much more to me. The New York Times review of “Glory
(1989)” claimed, “Glory is historical fiction, but all claims made are
accurate.”
The
historical accuracy of both films my old US History teacher showed me, helps me
not only learn about slavery but I am now able to visualize the sorrows of
slavery. These two films have made me reach a new level on which I sympathize
for slavery in the United States. Before I came across these two films, slavery
was just another piece of history I had to memorize, but now it has become
personal. Although these films do not have the actual characters that went
through these events, it conveys the information to me in a way that I will
obtain and memorize, but also in a way that entertains me. Both directors of
these films faced challenged in conveying their stories in an accurate way, but
both pulled it off phenomenally. I think it is important to learn through films
that are historically accurate, because films help students understand topics in
a deeper way. By watching films on history topics, as a student, I am able to
visualize the topic I am studying which keeps me interested and more invested
in what I am studying.
Sources, Film
Research- Glory & 12 Years a Slave
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