Film Essay

James Webster

September 17, 2015

History Lawson

Film Essay

While studying history I have learned that it is very important for me to study by using visuals and videos. Movies fall into this category because movies such as 12 years A Slave and Glory show in depth detail that in reality happened but can not be depicted as well in the textbooks as in movies. Movies are a great way to document history but also most movies add vivid details and scenes involving what actually occurred during the selected time period.

While learning history I believe movies are a very controversial topic because most movies are not 100% accurate, there are always dramatized scenes or events that might not have happened. Unlike theses movies, Glory and 12 Years A Slave both depict real dramatizations of what happened during the civil war and slavery but it also contains a small amount of false information like any movie. During both the movies there is actual events that occurred in the past such as battles and important gatherings that are depicted in the film. A quote from a review on 12 Years A Slave by Peter Bradshaw states, “Mcqueen's visual activity and and flair and the ferocity of those images ,might expose him to charges of fetishism. But this is to miss the point of what the film does. It certainly forces you to see it but in a different sense. The structure of it defamiliarizes the condition of slavery and the slave trade, it gives it a shocking visibility’’. I feel that this is a very important quote and I agree with what the author is stating here. In most history classes we only scrape the top of what we are learning and we rarely go in depth about details that might be hard to understand or might cause different emotions for students learning it. I understand that a history teacher has a filter on what they can teach but I feel that watching detailed movies such as these we have watched is important to see what actually happened in our history. I feel that the history should not be hidden in the sense that we can only learn what is thought to be appropriate. Some events and situations that have happened in our history could be horrible or cruel to some students but in reality there is no erasing it and the facts are important to be learned now rather than wonder and learn them in the future. Movies are a great way to reenact situations that actually happened including controversial acts that have been left out in the regular studies.

http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=950DE4D8113FF937A25751C1A96F948260&partner=Rotten%2520Tomatoes

• reveiw/critics Glory

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/10/how-em-12-years-a-slave-em-gets-history-right-by-getting-it-wrong/280911/

• 12 years a slave review

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jan/09/12-years-a-slave-review

• 12 years a slave review

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097441/reviews

• Glory review

Practicing Incorporating a Quotation

Matthew Chandler and I found this quote and we think that this quote contains powerful statements describing the historical film.

Accordingly, McPherson had this to say about Zwick's work: "Glory is not only the first feature film to treat the role of black soldiers in the American Civil War, [but] also the most powerful and historically accurate movie about that war ever made." 


This is what Mrs. Lawson wanted me to learn today

• Only use a quote when it adds power and style to my writing.
• Always make it clear, from context, that i understand the full meaning of the quote.
• Whether i quote or paraphrase, always be transparent about the source and how im using it .
• If i use another authors exact words or phrases , to any extent, i have to use quotation marks and give credit.
• If i use another persons authors presentation of facts or ideas,but put their ideas in my own words, i better have a good reason for doing that , and i must give credit. 
• Hyper linking is so easy, there is no excuse for not being transparent about my sources. 

I understand this before I go into an assignment.

Paraphrase Practice

We used and article from Reel American History

"Regardless of the cause, fighting for the Union army were over 188,000 Blacks who often are overlooked or forgotten in our understanding of American history from our primary school textbooks. In addition to those brave soldiers, the struggle and the people behind the struggle to allow colored regiments to fight for their country was as quickly and easily omitted from our "history." In this aspect, the film is glorified as a heroic milestone in historical cinema."

Paraphrase 

In the civil war nearly 200,000 African american soldiers were fighting for the union and even though the men were effective and important, american history somewhat disregards the understanding of what the men did. This is possible because it was easy for a group of African american soldiers to be forgotten in history during this period in time. Due to this, the movie created about these men is a very important and is special for movies explaining history.