I am a firm believer in the use of numerous mediums to learn a subject. Watching a movie is no exception to this. History is not solely confined to the medium of a unwieldy paper book filled with hundreds of pages that the students will more than likely forget a matter of days after reading. Not only this, but with the medium of a movie you can experience history in a whole new way being able to see it as if you were actually there, rather than just reading about it in a textbook, a point which both the movie Glory and 12 Years a Slave do brilliantly. It is not only possible but even more likely that students will better be able to explore real events, circumstances, and attitudes just by watching movies.
12 Years a Slave is an excellent example of a movie that can speak volumes about a time period. Just as History Professor Emma McFarmon stated, “I have never seen a film represent slavery so accurately. “ (Atlantic). This just goes to show that even historians of the highest level can truly see the value that movies hold towards teaching history. 12 Years a Slave tells a story that was all too common during slavery. Through the movie, you can really visual how African Americans were treated during this time period. It puts a graphic image in your head that I believe would not easily be thought of only by reading. It provides a reality to the things we have always heard but never been able to comprehend about slavery. This is not to say that it paints all white men out to be evil slave driving devil figures, as the man who rescues Soloman after being a slave for so long is in fact a white male. In fact, in the book 12 Years a Slave, Soloman even goes so far as to say, “There was never a more kind, noble, candid, Christian man than William Ford.”(Atlantic) stating family clearly that not all white males were some evil creatures during that time period, another showing of a movie being able to break preconceptions that have been ingrained in us through years of textbook teaching.
Glory is another excellent movie about the Civil War in which an all black regiment is the one focused on. This is another instance of the general public getting a chance to see the world through a whole different set of lens’, really experiencing life during that time period. This is not to say that there are no historical inaccuracies in the movie Glory, but with an amount of research most would deem minuscule, you can find those inaccuracies and still learn a plethora of facts about the time period from the movie (Ashland). Just as Mr. Bernstein said so profoundly, the movie Glory is trying to tell a “…truth truer than the literal truth”. I believe that that is the beauty of film as a medium for learning. It is okay if there are some historical inaccuracies with the plot, as I believe that as a student of history it is not my job to know in which direction Fort Sumter was attacked, rather I believe that as a student of history I must be an expert on relations throughout history, focusing on how people behaved and why they behaved that way rather than small facts that ultimately remain unimportant for the general population.
Even movies have some mistakes, this is just a fact as everything can never be perfect. Hollywood has a very big problem of making the savior of every race relation movie during the 1800s a white male, as seen in both 12 Years a Slave and Glory through the Canadian carpenter and the leader of the regiment respectively.(Atlantic) What’s just as well Hollywood makes slavery out to be some sort of obstacle that can be overcome, which is much more prevalent in movies like Django Unchained. This, however, does not appear in 12 Years a Slave and in fact, the one time that they attempt to rebel against their captors in the movie, one man dies. Slavery is not some obstacle, it is “a systemic evil that leaves those in its grasp with no good choices.”(Atlantic).
With all of this said, I do believe that a way of learning history that is perhaps even better than solely reading from a textbook is through the medium of film. It allows the student to actively see elements of a time period that he may either overlook or misinterpret through reading. It also allows for a deeper understanding of what people were going through, putting a face to pain that today is unimaginable. While minor facts may be left out of a movie solely for the purpose that it must be around two hours long, this is not to say that the movie is any less of a resource for the teaching community as a whole. It is only to say that there might be some light research on the topic. Movies just allow an understanding that is otherwise more often that not unachievable. Once you have this understanding, you look at the time period and at all of history in a completely new way.
An Example of a pain that can't easily be thought of solely from a text book. From Google Images
Sources:
Link 1 12 years a slave awards
Link 2 Glory Box office and Critics
Link 3 Atlantic 12 years Historical accuracy
Link 4 Glory Ashland University
Link 5 Atlantic Purpose of 12 Years
Link 6 Atlantic White Savior
Even movies have some mistakes, this is just a fact as everything can never be perfect. Hollywood has a very big problem of making the savior of every race relation movie during the 1800s a white male, as seen in both 12 Years a Slave and Glory through the Canadian carpenter and the leader of the regiment respectively.(Atlantic) What’s just as well Hollywood makes slavery out to be some sort of obstacle that can be overcome, which is much more prevalent in movies like Django Unchained. This, however, does not appear in 12 Years a Slave and in fact, the one time that they attempt to rebel against their captors in the movie, one man dies. Slavery is not some obstacle, it is “a systemic evil that leaves those in its grasp with no good choices.”(Atlantic).
With all of this said, I do believe that a way of learning history that is perhaps even better than solely reading from a textbook is through the medium of film. It allows the student to actively see elements of a time period that he may either overlook or misinterpret through reading. It also allows for a deeper understanding of what people were going through, putting a face to pain that today is unimaginable. While minor facts may be left out of a movie solely for the purpose that it must be around two hours long, this is not to say that the movie is any less of a resource for the teaching community as a whole. It is only to say that there might be some light research on the topic. Movies just allow an understanding that is otherwise more often that not unachievable. Once you have this understanding, you look at the time period and at all of history in a completely new way.
Sources:
Link 1 12 years a slave awards
Link 2 Glory Box office and Critics
Link 3 Atlantic 12 years Historical accuracy
Link 4 Glory Ashland University
Link 5 Atlantic Purpose of 12 Years
Link 6 Atlantic White Savior
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