In Class Essay : 12 Years a Slave & Glory

               Through watching movies in History class you are able to use more skills in class than what you would with a regular class. While watching movies you are using your analytical skills, seeing different sides of History and are able to see how accurate the movies were. With watching movies in class you have to choose the right movie and keep in mind how in depth you would like to go with your notes during the movie. It is all about using all of your skills in class and not just one. 

               While watching movies you have to be able to analyze each scene to see what the director wanted you to see because every little part had meaning. Like in 12 years a slave, it goes into everyday life of a slave. Solomon is the best type of reference because he lived through slavery and was able to come out a free man. The movie does not show what everyone want to see of slavery, the they worked a lot and the "owners" made them work long grueling hours. This movie shows that there were none or very few caring masters, slaves were not happy with their living conditions they were provided, also that there was no chance that a message could get to any one's family. 12 Years a Slave, really shows what most American slavery are missing the idea that humans can make other humans suffer just for existing. Anyone can clearly see the terror that is hidden in the scene of this movie if they look for it. Also movies can show a different side of history that one may not get to see anywhere else.

Slaves for sale 

               Before watching Glory, many people only saw the civil war through the eyes of white people. Yes, the movies is shown from the perspective of Robert Shaw, but it lets you see all what the black soldiers had to go through. This movie was really showed how the troops of the 54th battalion never gave up even though everyone was criticizing them. No one thought that black people could ever have to discipline it takes to be a soldier. With the 54th battalion, they turned the tide of the war, by letting the white commanding officers in on their struggles, and letting them see the ways that they were raised. The white commanding officers turned down their pay when the black soldiers were told that they were going to be paid less. It was unfair that the soldiers were only getting paid 10 dollars with 3 dollars taken away for clothing, when white soldiers were getting paid 10 dollars and a 3 dollar allowance to buy clothing. The soldiers lives outside of training was not heavily in the film, the best scene before the film is when they are praying before they go to battle and this really shows how blacks can believe in a high power and let people who wronged them into their lives, because they believe. One problem with how the director decided to make the movie was that is was told from a white man's perspective when it should have been from a soldier's perspective because that would have allowed for more sides of history to be seen. While watching both of the movies you have to wonder how accurate they are. 

Robert Shaw

               In my opinion both of the movies were accurate to a degree, more so 12 years a Slave to Glory. In 12 Years a Slave you can see how slaves were treated inhumanly, with Solomon being hung, Patsy's life, and all the other slaves as well. With Solomon being hung outside in the summer heat with no water or anything really shows that people didn't care what happened to their slaves if they missed behaved. The other slaves at the plantation were used to this sort of behavior from the white people because they didn't see it as anything new and just went on living their day. With Patsy, probably her entire life she was pushed to extreme limits and so she became very docile. Patsy was Epp's "mistress", she was engaged in a sexual relationship with him, and from what we can guess it was not consensual. She went along with it though because women who lived on plantations knew that if they had a sexual relationship with the master then they were less likely to be sold and more likely to get special privileges they everyone else did not. Such as with Patsy, she was able to roam around on Sunday's, as long as she returned by a certain time.  During Glory, you can see how none of the white soldiers believed that they were actually going to fight. Both of the soldiers were yelling at each other and about to fight when Shaw rode up on horseback so they both knew who was in charge they just needed to learn to work together and maybe something good might of happened. Also during Glory, in the majority of the scene the soldiers uniforms looked clean, and freshly pressed which would not have been the case out on the front where these men were. All in all the movie watching process is worth it if you will put in the effort. 

Slave asking for pardance

               With watching movies in class you have to be willing to put forth the effort to look for the small details and do some research outside of class then it is worth it. Especially for those who are visual learners who want to see what happened. The idea of being able to see deeper context and being able to analyze movies is something that everyone will use in life and so you should start early on these skills in high school. 

Works Cited

Canby, Vincent. "Review/Film; Black Combat Bravery in the Civil War." The New York Times. The New York Times, 14 Dec. 1989. Web. 24 Sept. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=950DE4D8113FF937A25751C1A96F948260>.

Dargis, Manohla. "The Blood and Tears, Not the Magnolias." The New York Times. The New York Times, 17 Oct. 2013. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/18/movies/12-years-a-slave-holds-nothing-back-in-show-of-suffering.html?_r=0>.

Ebert, Roger. "Glory Movie Review & Film Summary (1989) | Roger Ebert." All Content. Freddie Fields, 12 Jan. 1990. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. <http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/glory-1989>.

Hallam, Jennifer. "Men, Women, and Gender." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/slavery/experience/gender/history2.html>.

"History Study Center - Home Page." History Study Center - Home Page. Houghton Mifflin, n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. <http://www.historystudycenter.com/search/displayReferenceItemById.do?QueryName=reference&fromPage=studyunit&ItemID=hmaA0000792&resource=ref>.

History.com Staff. "Slavery in America." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. <http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/slavery>.

Neumaier, Joe. "'12 Years a Slave': Movie Review." NY Daily News. NY Times, 17 Oct. 2013. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. <http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/12-years-slave-movie-review-article-1.1488866>.

Weld, Theodore. "Theodore Weld: American Slavery As It Is (1839)." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2000. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. <https://americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Results?q=298866>.

12 Years a Slave Written Response

After watching this film, what did you:

1) Already know regarding slavery in the south and the treatment of slaves?

2) find shocking regarding slavery?

3) find interesting and potentially want to research more of?

1. Before watching this film my knowledge of the treatment of the slaves in the south was what we learned in middle school. That they were regarded as property and their lives were not worth anything at all. 
2. Something I found shocking is how horribly they were treated. I knew it was bad I couldn't of imagined the amount of torture that those people had to endure. 
3. Potentially I could want to do more research about how the different "classes" of slaves were treated differently. Also how slaves could work there way up to be treated better. 

12 Years a Slave Paraphrase Activity

               The new film from the British director Steve McQueen is an adaptation of the memoirs of Solomon Northup, a freeborn black American family man from upstate New York who was kidnapped, shipped to the South and sold to the owner of a Louisiana plantation in 1841. There have been other films about American slaves, and films that have described or depicted the American slave trade in some way too: not many, but enough high-profile ones, from Gone With the Wind all the way to Mandingo, for the topic not to feel like unmapped territory. (Telegraph.co.uk article)

               In a part of Robbie Collins review of the film 12 years a slave he made the following points. The new version of the memoirs of Solomon Northup was directed by British Steve McQueen. It is the story of a free colored family from New York, Solomon was captured, and forced to the south and sold to a plantation owner of Louisiana in 1841. The other films about slavery have described and showed slave trade in many different ways. Only a few have become popular enough ,such as Gone with the Wind all they way to Mandingo have really gone into the unspoken territory of slavery.