Literary Movie Review: Glory

Glory is a 1989 history film set in the time period of the American Civil War, as seen through the eyes of Commanding Officer, Robert Gould Shaw and his 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry consisting of all blacks. As with all films and writings, the title is important. Glory plays an important role in the film. It is both universal to all main characters. Glory is universal to all characters whenever the black soldiers get equality within the army. This is seen when Colonel Robert Shaw, played by Matthew Broderick, demands for shoes for his men (and succeeds in doing so) when they were lacking, despite the commonplace among white officers that supplies are usually reserved for white regiments only. It is also seen when Shaw makes it known that he will treat his men with the same authoritative discipline that white officers would use with their white men. In other words, he trains them hard to prepare them to fight (assuming they will), just like the white regiments, despite another commonplace that the blacks will not be used to fight, but just for manual labor and other minor orders (such looting and destroying civilian towns, which the other officer’s black regiment was trained to do).

However, glory is subtly different for white than for blacks. For blacks, glory is being considered equal to whites in the army; for whites (in the 54th regiment), glory is the achievement of that goal because of their assistance as well as the close bonds made through that assistance. Colonel Shaw’s glory for instance was when he lay dying with the dead bodies of his men, not ashamed that he dies with black men. The ultimate glory, for both whites and blacks in the 54th regiment is their last battle. Shaw got to show what his black men were made of and the black men got to fight, like white men, or even better.

Four main black soldiers in the film are Sergeant Major John Rawlins (Morgan Freeman), Private Silas Trip (Denzel Washington), Private Jupiter Sharts (Jihmi Kennedy), and Thomas (Andre Braugher). While they all strive to obtain glory, they each have their own personalities. Rawlins is the elderly, wise type. He has had experience and has been through a lot. He is wise in that he knows how blacks are and can communicate this to Shaw. He also is wise when he stops the fight between Trip and Thomas, knowing that their fight is useless because they are all black and they all have the same purpose. Sharts is a follower and a good fighter, his specialty being his ability to aim accurately. However, in being a follower, he is also naïve. Trip is the rebellious kind. He is also deeply lost and perhaps that is the reason he is also a trouble-maker. He is lost because before the army, he did not quite have a family and he develops it throughout the film from his stay with the other men. Thomas is called “Snowflake” by Trip because he talks and acts like a white person and he unlike most blacks, is educated, as symbolized by his glasses (since glasses often has the connotation of a studious person).

Two main characters who grow are also the two who are polar opposites by personality: Trip and Thomas. They both grow on each other. Thomas grows by becoming stronger, physically, as when he saves Trip’s life in battle by stabbing the enemy before he (the enemy) reached Trip. More importantly, he also grows by earning the respect of Trip from that same act. In turn, Trip becomes less rebellious, through learning to respect Thomas and, in the process, he becomes more united with the whole regiment, calling them his family. They both grew because they both changed for the better.

Not only do Thomas and Trip grow; so too does Colonel Shaw grow. He learns to assert himself for the sake of his army. He asserts himself when he demands for shoes, was training his men with the help of Sergeant Mulcahy, which Officer Forbes at first thought was too harsh, though it was because he at the time still harbored the idea that the black troops were just there to march and do manual labor, and ultimately when he demands that his men fight when he was talking to General David Hunter, using blackmail. The reason why Shaw was able to grow was because he had qualities that made him an effective commander. For example, he behaves professionally and disciplined with his regiment and stresses this to his men (he practices what he preaches). More importantly, he is rough and tough with his men in training them while at the same time, he forms bonds with the men helping them gain equality in the army, insuring both unity and morale.

As alluded to many times, equality is a main issue in the film. The blacks face prejudice in the army. The nature of this prejudice is such that the blacks are not allowed to fight (not expected to). The blacks do not get the same supplies as the whites and the blacks do not get the same amount of pay for being in the army. Most importantly, the blacks are not expected to train as well as the whites because they are not expected to fight as the whites are. However, with the help of Robert Shaw they get to fight, train and get supplies. While they do not get pay, they get equality in that aspect in that the white officers of that regiment decide to not get pay as well. All these factors help to overcome the prejudice that is so pervasive in the army.

I recommend this film to all those who have an interest in the Civil War, though I must warn you that there are many inaccuracies (the wikipedia page for this film had a good rant about them). Nevertheless, if you are not won by the characters’ growth and the battles scenes, you have a safety net of epic music in the background, composed by James Horner (who did the music for Titanic), featuring the Boys Choir of Harlem.

Being a mild enthusiast in American history up to the Civil War, I thoroughly enjoyed this film. A young Matthew Broderick may have helped in my loving the film as well. Sure he doesn’t have the commanding type of voice, but his voice is always pleasant to my ear and it rings well with the sound of equality.