Black History Month through Story: Glory, The Gold Cadillac, and The Green Book

 

Today for Black History month I want to mention and,as time permits, summarize two of my favorite films and a favorite children's book that all depict themes on Black American culture. Whatever might not get finished with much thoroughness today will be something I can come back to in the next few days or the near future, in March. 

 

The Film Glory

This is not just one of my favorite films about Black American experience, but is one of my favorite films of all-time, ever since I saw it for the first time when it was first released in 1989. I love a good war film. You might say there is no such thing as a good war, but I do love a good war film. And, like WW II, this is one of those wars worth fighting for: It is the Civil War and it intends to end slavery. Here is a good opening to a summary of the film as I found it on Google search when I could not remember the year it first came out: 

Following the Battle of Antietam, Col. Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Broderick) is offered command of the United States' first all-African-American regiment, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. With junior officer Cabot Forbes (Cary Elwes), Shaw puts together a strong and proud unit, including the escaped slave Trip (Denzel Washington) and the wise gravedigger John Rawlins (Morgan Freeman). At first limited to menial manual tasks, the regiment fights to be placed in the heat of battle. 

 (Retrieved from https://www.google.com/search?q=when+did+the+film+Glory+first+come+out%3F&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS842US842&oq=when+did+the+film+Glory+first+come+out%3F&aqs=chrome..69i57.8125j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8)

This film tells the true story of the first all-Black American regiment (which was volunteer) that fought in the Civil War. Matthew Broderick stars as the real-life figure Colonel Robert G, Shaw who leads the soldiers from its formationm in the winter of 1863 to July 18, 1863 when they extended their efforts against Fort Wagner in Charleston.This site was and to this day is considered the toughest beachhead defense constructed by the Confederate Army..It was an act of astounding bravery and the film demonstrates this well. Review site Rotten Tomatoes  stated that Edward Zwick directed this film well and made it stunning. 

Here are the primary main actors who played the real-life characters:

Matthew Broderick--Col. Robert Gould Shaw

Denzel Washington--Pvt. Trip. Won one of the three Oscars awarded to this film, for best supporting actor. 

Morgan Freeman--Sgt. Maj. John Rawlins

Cary Elwes--Maj. Cabot Forbes

Jihmi Kennedy--Pvt. Jupiter Sharts

Andre Braugher--Cpl. Thomas Searles

The film also won an Oscar for Best Cinematography (Freddie Francis)  and an Oscar for Best Sound  (Donald O. Mitchell, Gregg Rudloff, Elliot Tyson, and Russel Williams II). As a writer, I have to mention that the screenplay was wreitten by Kevin Jarre. 

It has also been stated in Entertainment Weekly online that Zwick, its director was carefully intent on making sure to work with the studio to prevent a "white savior narractive." One way in which he did this was to not overfocus on Broderick playing Shaw and to show the "power of truth." One of those truthful moments is when Washington's character is whipped when he is mistakenly accused of trying to desert. It was a gripping moment because although this was the punishment given to deserters at the time of the war, Pvt. Trip had opreviosuly been a slave. Here he was, supposedly free to be in the military, but being whipped as if still a slave. It was later discovered that all he was doing was looking for shoes that did not blister and cut feet. Another moment of truth was when Zwick pulled the narrative to the close focus on some soldiers (the main characters) together inside a tent. Zwick mentioned this as one ofo his stretegies and every single time I saw this film, I was impressed with this and had the same thought before ever reading it. It showed the intimacy of real life inside a scene which Zwick called "the heart of the film."It was a huge moment within a small space that made the scene pertain to the overall vitality of the film, its main feeling. 

(Nota bene: I will need to post more credits/source info here, more formally/properly.)

\The Children's Book, The Gold Cadillac

I included this book for my syllabus when I taught children's literature as did other professors who went before me. I felt it was a great history to carry on doing in more ways than one--the story itself as a true historical story and the history of its inclusiveness in the literature/English department at the college.

Written by Mildred D. Taylor and illustrated by Michael Hays, it was first published for young readers in the U.S. in 1987. In the story, a father gets a brand new gold cadillac and the family is anxious to drive from Ohio to Mississippi to visit family. In the rural South they receive nothing but suspicious glares and no admiration for their car and are stopped and harrassed by police who wonder where and how they got the car and why they are driving it around there. the story is told through the eyes of Lois one of the daughters and sister to Wilma. At this time I will not give away the ending. I hope you read this book and see how they make it home.