History in class essay

            Many people do not believe that it is possible to learn history from watching movies. The way people learn certain things can vary from one person to another. Some people are visual learners so it would be very good for them to watch a movie, others learn better when they can just listen to someone teach it or they can just read it. You really can learn a lot from a historical movie as long as it is accurate. I believe It is possible to develop great analytical skills and explore real events, circumstances, and attitudes just by watching movies in a critical way.

            When I was still at Randolph we watched the movie 12 years a slave, a movie about a free black man who was kidnapped and forced into slavery. This movie was based on a novel written by Solomon Northrop about his experiences when he was kidnapped. This movie really showed me a lot about how bad slavery really was. As Robert Ebert said “ The scene when Platt was left hanging from the tree all day while the slaves and workers just walked by him really showed how cruel slavery really was.” The director went into great detail when it came to slave cruelty and it really helped to get the point across. The scene when Solomon is forced to whip patsey was so cruel I almost couldn’t watch it. It is very possible to learn about real events and the circumstances of the time back then when watching a movie as detailed as this one. Robert Ebert said it perfectly “ This movie is like a punch in the gut where as Django was just a slap to the face … It really makes you feel that you have witnessed slavery.” A movie of this detail that really makes you feel apart of the time can really help you get a better understanding of what it was like back then. Of course the movie must be historically accurate to be able to learn from it.

            When deciding to watch a movie in history to help  further the understanding of a topic it is very important to make sure that the movie is accurate and non fiction. Two movies that we watched at Randolph before I left were Glory and 12 years a slave. These two movies have been proven to be historically accurate which makes them great movies to learn from. As an article in the Library of congress said “ these kidnappings were much more common than people talked about.” I had no idea something like this even happened during slave times until I watched this movie. The movie 12 years a slave is a great historical movie to learn from because it is based off of a book written by Solomon Northrop himself, and as Ny times said Solomon's story was not believed by many to be true until the real Samuel Bass was found in Ontario Canada. So this movie is great because it is based off a book that has been proven to be true. The movie Glory is Based off of the Experiences of Robert Goldshaw which were documented in his letters to his parents. This movie is also great to learn from because it is based off of a first hand account from the general of the 54^th regiment. Although this movie was not as graphic when it came to the cruelty of slaves, It did a great job showing how the black were treated.

The movie Glory showed me a lot about the blacks and whites during this time. The Blacks and Whites did not get along but they were able to come together as a group because they all had one common idea and goal. The first major step towards them coming together is during the movie when the officers also choose to refuse pay once the soldiers had refused their pay because it was not as much as the white soldiers. Another scene in the movie that proved this was when Goldshaw storms into the supply center for the army and starts tearing the place apart looking for shoes for his men because he had been ignored for so long. This scene showed that no matter black or white he cared about his soldiers well being and knew that they needed shoes and he would not stop until he got them. The Climax of the movie the battle at Fort Wagner solidified the relationship that had been built between the black soldiers and the white officers. The men marched together fearlessly into gunfire knowing that they would probably not make it. They had all come together as one and they were either going to win together or die together. This movie is a great movie to watch when studying the civil war because it helps depict the relationship between blacks and whites during the war.

I believe it is very possible to develop analytical skills and explore real events, circumstances, and attitudes just by watching movies in a critical way. These two movies showed me so much about slavery and the civil war that I had no idea even existed. These two movies really helped me explore the circumstances these people were in during this time. They also depicted the attitudes that blacks and whites had towards each other during this time. Whether you are a visual learner or not I believe it is very possible to learn history from watching historical movies.

           

 #1. Roger ebert- glory review – This was a movie review for glory that helped me understand the movie better.

#2. Imbd glory awards  this showed me how successful the movie glory was.

#3 imbd 12 years a slave awards - this showed me how successful the movie 12 years a slave was.

#4 12 years a slave accuracy this was a website that compared parts of 12 years a slave to what actually happened.

#5 history.org glory  This showed me exactly how historically accurate glory was.

#6 roger ebert 12 years review  this was a movie review on 12 years a slave that helped me understand the movie.

#7 ny times 12 years a slave -this was a movie review on 12 years a slave that helped me understand the movie.

#8 ny times glory -  This was a movie review for glory that helped me understand the movie better.

#9 library of congress 12 years a slave - this helped me with understanding how historically accurate the movie was.

 

This is Solomon Northrops real book 

 

This is a picture of what the battle of fort wagner was like. 

This is a picture of Robert Gouldshaw.

            This is a drawing of Solomon Northrop.



 This is a picture of what Edwin Epps house looks like now.