Glory

Part I:     I truly thought Glory was a great movie with a great message. I thought the leading characters in this movie, including Denzel Washington Morgan Freeman and Matthew Broderick, played their roles incredibly. I think the movie truly represented what it was like for African Americans at the time that this took place. African Americans were still not treated equally after they received their freedom, and this is heavily prevalent in the war aspect. They were still looked down upon as if they were not equal to the white men, and this caused them to not get the opportunities to fight that they wanted. The strong cast of this movie really showed the emotion that men of this time were feeling. All they wanted was a chance to represent their country and fight for it, however they couldn't do that because of the color of their skin. The main character Col. Robert Shaw, really hit me emotionally. He is put in charge of a regiment of all black men, and he took this role whole heartedly. You see this in the way he cares about the men. When the men receive less pay, he says they all won't take the pay. When the men really need new shoes, he fights for his way to get them. When we meet another colonel in charge of a regiment later in the movie, we see how much he disrespects these men. Shaw can't understand this, and he wants to give his men the opportunity they deserve. The most important part of the movie was when Shaw fights right with his men at the end, and loses his life for it. I think Shaw's character was so essential to this movie, because he represented someone who was very radical for the time. He went against the norm, by leading his black regiment with heart, and treating them with equality.

Part II:
I think our country enables us to have a strong sense of pride from where we are from. This pride combined with bravery and passion enables this strong will for people to go to war. When someone has these combined traits, I believe that it makes them completely willing to fight and die for their country. I truly believe that the men of this regiment from the movie are heroes. Most of these men had been undermined all of their lives because of their skin color, yet they wanted the ability to fight and risk their lives for their country. I think this aspect is so incredible. They didn't want to just sit aside and do the labor of war, they wanted to do the fighting, even if it meant they would probably lose their lives. I believe that Shaw is also a great hero. He went against the norm, and whole heartedly took pride in this regiment, and treated them with the equality that they deserved. He cared about his men, and when they finally got their opportunity to fight, he fought along side with them. He risked his life even though he didn't need to, and I think this all makes him the greatest hero in the  movie.

Part III:
The significance of this story is in the history of African Americans in war, and also the bravery of all of the characters. This movie accurately portrays what it was like for African American men who wanted to be in war. The movie portrays the racism that occurred, and also men like Shaw who wanted to go beyond skin color. Shaw was different for this time, and acted beyond the pressure of everyone around him who truly didn't care about the race issue. I think this movie is so significant in it shows the history of African American's in our country, and also people like Shaw who wanted to be beyond all of it.