Griffin Widner
9/12/14
US History B
Learning History
through Film
The use
of movies on historical topics in the classroom can be just as effective as
learning by way of a text book. They can help students understand the deeper,
more emotional side of history, rather than just reading facts in a text book.
An example of such films would be Glory and
12 Years a Slave. These two films
allowed me to feel more empathy for the social groups of the time period, and
in return I was more enthralled in the learning process, because in my opinion,
it is easier to learn about something you are genuinely passionate about.
The
movie Glory takes place in the Civil
War, and is based off two books that contained actual letters from the General,
one of the main characters of the film. Essentially, the film is about the
first all-African-American regiment in the military and the struggles that they
underwent. Director Ed Zwick does a great job of using different personalities
to portray the events that are happening, and make a more emotional connection to
the viewer. My favorite point of view was from the character played by Denzel
Washington, who was my favorite character. He played a former slave who was mad
at the world and viewed going to war as “trading one type of slavery for
another.” He was very easy for me to connect with, because I believe we all
know what it feels like to do something that we really don’t want to do
although we know we have to. Through this connection I became more involved
with the story, and the actual history that was within the movie. I know the
argument can be made that Washington’s role wasn’t based upon an actual
historical figure, therefor the film is inaccurate. However, it must be
understood that this is a motion picture, not an old text book. Personalities
help us connect to the story, which IS historically accurate, as it is based
upon the letters of General Shaw. The film gave me a much more effective way to
learn the history of the 54th Regiment.
12 Years a Slave is an Academy Award
winning movie that takes us on the terrible adventure of a free African-American,
Solomon Northrup, who is captured and sold into slavery wrongfully and then
after 12 years becomes free again. The film is based upon the book of the same
title that was written by the main character of the film, Solomon. This movie
in my opinion was a lot more emotional than Glory,
and I learned a lot from the move that I had never read in a history book,
which only furthers my point that interest and learning are related. The film
is seen entirely through Solomon’s eyes, and we witness the horrors of slavery.
The film was fairly accurate in its depiction of the life of a slave. It showed
the slaves being rented out to be used by other slave owners, which was
something I had no idea ever happened. Another new thing I learned from the
film was also very significant to me emotionally, and this is when Solomon is
working alongside white men, who are getting paid, but that when he was free
was of a higher social class than they were. This scene really made me feel
sympathetic for Solomon, although the scenes of physical violence did as well.
Through this film, I really felt more like I could possibly empathize with the
slaves and that I learned a lot more about their daily lives that will stick
with me longer than words on a page will.
These
two films are great examples of my personal learning experiences with movies.
This should prove the correlation between a person’s interest to learn
something and how much they actually learn. Also, I am a high school student,
and it is much more interesting to watch a movie, even if it is analytically,
than it is to read textbooks and do worksheets.
Sources, Film
Research-Glory and 12 Years a Slave
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