Movie: Glory Essay, Research Paper

Movie: Glory

The movie Glory (though having seen it 4 times) still amazes me. It is a

very emotional movie. It is about the fact that blacks were starting to not be

discriminated against. The racism was actually not gone at all, just muffled

by many people’s views.

The 54th regiment was incorporated because people thought it would only

be fitting that blacks be able to fight for their own freedom. The problem was

that the blacks were still thought of as inferior individuals. This is why it

took so long for a black regiment to come into existence. A good example of

the racism that was still existent in the north is when the 54th met the white

regiment coming back and were called “nigger”s and were taunted. Another good

example was that Blacks were not allowed to go to military academies, and that

is why the regiment was led by white officers.

Colonel Shaw (in the beginning) was still prejudiced against blacks. He

did not treat them as humans. As time went on, he discarded all his previous

views, and learned that blacks are no different than us all. He realized that

the troops wanted to go out and die in the battle-field. He also realized how

bad the nation’s views of blacks were. So he volunteered them for a battle that

would surely bring them to Glory and honor. He was fully aware that the battle

would not be a success, but it was a success morally. The people finally

learned that blacks were people. This movie was not only about the blacks having

their own regiment, but how they changed the public’s views on them, and showed

them that they were humans.