"The movie does a very good job of addressing the discrimination faced by the 54th Massachusetts as well as their heroic performance at Battery Wagner in July 1863. One of the themes that the movie captures is the slow progress that Col. Robert G. Shaw experienced in learning to more closely empathize with his men as well as the gradual changes that took place among white Union soldiers as they questioned their own racial outlook in response to the battlefield prowess of black regiments like the 54th. As for problems, well, they abound throughout the movie such as the profile of the regiment, which is presented primarily as a unit of fugitive slaves. Most of the men were free blacks from Massachusetts. Other problems include the time frame for the raising and training of the regiment which began in 1863 rather than 1862 as well as the failure to acknowledge Shaw’s marriage at any point in the movie."
My Paraphrase:
The author of this review, Kevin Levin, expresses his take away from the film Glory. He explains that the movie shows the struggles of discrimination between African Americans and White men. Col. Shaw learns throughout the movie how to feel and understand the emotions of his African American soldiers. He experienced the progressive changes of his viewpoint on African American soldiers and White soldiers on the battlefield. Some issues discovered throughout the movie were with some of the African American soldiers being fugitive slaves but most were free African Americans from Massachusetts. In addition to this problem, Levin also complains about the way the movie shows the timing of preparing the soldiers for battle. And finally, Levin also pointed out that the movie never showed that Shaw was actually married.
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