Glory
As completely disgusting as the very concept of slavery is and was, whatâs even more disgusting is the idea of Americans fighting Americans. Not two people on the opposite ends of the spectrum bickering on national cable news networks, but rather seeing two entire armies from different regions of the country gathering weapons and supplies and battling it out in a full fledged combat situation. So then it goes without saying that The Civil War should go down as the most disgraceful, shameful chapter in our nationâs history, a war that wasnât just merely over correcting The South when it came to the ideology of slavery, but also over issues of taxes and commerce in how their side was conducting their overall business. However, the easy answer for what caused The Civil War remains âslaveryâ, something which Lincoln obviously found repellent, but one must also understand that Lincoln himself did NOT start The Civil War, but rather inherited it when he came into office from his more weaker (and reputedly homosexual) predecessor, James Buchanan, who made a mockery out of any kind of diplomacy efforts and caused both sides to be taking up arms long before Lincoln was ever sworn into office. Had the bloodshed been prevented, Lincoln no doubt still would have made freeing the slaves a (peaceful) priority, but instead was tasked with holding together a nation at war where the enemy was actually our fellow Americans, something Lincoln always knew even as his intentions for full clemency and forgiveness upon The South was forever ended by his assassination. In 1989, one of the decidedly better movies about the war was made and directed by then longtime TV journeyman Edward Zwick. It told the (true) story of the first ever black regiment to fight for The Union in the conflict (and by definition, probably the first time that black Americans were allowed to fight as actual U.S. soldiers). Matthew Broderick (coming out strong in one of his first real prestige films) plays the real life Col. Robert Gould Shaw, a young man with a privileged Boston background being the son of wealthy abolitionists who first sees combat in the brutal Battle Of Antietam only to return home and be hailed as a hero for merely getting grazed by a bullet while other soldiers were having their heads blown clean off. He is told of the regiment forming (and of being promoted to Colonel in order to lead it) during a swanky party at his family estate and he accepts the duty while bringing along his best friend and fellow soldier (Cary Elwes, third billed despite having most of his scenes cut out leaving only bits where he constantly questions Broderickâs way of running things) to be his second in command and then itâs off to the training camp to meet the motley collection of recruits who are mostly former slaves now looking to get some âpaybackâ, none personified more so by this description than in Denzel Washingtonâs Private Trip. It is obvious that this role (which marched Denzel onto the A list and resulted in his first Oscar win for the category of Best Supporting Actor) is a juicy one and exhibits Washington showing not only a seething thirst for revenge on the white Confederates he had suffered under, but also a cynical, contemptuous attitude towards his fellow black soldiers, particularly a well educated Boston native (and childhood friend of Broderick and Elwesâ) played by Andre Braugher, but thereâs enough of his scorn to go around for everyone (no surprise then that Denzel utters more racial epithets than anyone else in the movie). However, itâs the character arc that counts, with the bitterness of the Washington character even leading to him making it clear that he feels that fighting in this war is for himself and personal vengeance only, even going so far as to tell Broderick that he has no interest in either saluting or carrying the American flag until he proudly feels compelled to do just that in the filmâs stirring final moments. The other recruits include Morgan Freeman as the senior member of the group (and former gravedigger) who does emerge as a leader of sorts among their ranks (and even slaps some sense into Denzel during the filmâs best scene and biggest acting showdown), Jihmi Kennedy (a guy who virtually disappeared from the acting scene after this film never to be seen again) as a friendly, stuttering, mild mannered fellow who (in a contrast to Denzel) has some big fears about the idea of fighting and Braugher as the cultured Boston intellectual who eagerly joins up because he thinks itâs all fun and games until he discovers the brutality of military training under the thumb of the Union drill instructor (John Finn) and gets a harsh taste of reality in the process (even as Elwesâ character constantly protests some of the brutal tactics being used to toughen these men up in the best bleeding heart tradition). Of course, no prizes are awarded for guessing that the racism is strong on both sides of the Mason Dixon line as at first the Union commanders are intent on not even allowing the black regiment to fight or engage in any kind of combat whatsoever, preferring instead to have them do manuel labor such as dig ditches with the most disturbing scene being when they march with another black platoon into a peaceful Southern town, where the other commander (Cliff DeYoung) who himself is clearly racist but holds an even greater contempt for white Southerners who chose to secede from the Union, orders his black troops to burn and pillage the town while he refers to his own men as âhappy monkey childrenâ getting to take out their anger on white Confederate civilians right in front of Broderick and his men. But Broderick (as appalled as he is at this) wants his men to be treated as real soldiers, which means having them fight real soldiers from the Confederate side too and when he finally gets his wishes granted, they perform admirably against a Confederate regiment in a minor battle, driving them back (even as they learn that the epic Gettysburg battle has just gone down and thus will get all of the publicâs attention) and setting up the fateful Siege On Fort Wagner, one where the battleplan is to send in an âexpendableâ regiment to distract the enemy while the others move in (and for which Broderick volunteers his troops as opposed to them being pushed into the front lines out of racism). Itâs in these last 20 to 30 minutes when these men not only know that theyâre going to get some real action, but are not expected to survive it either, that we see them come together and realize what theyâre really fighting for, not as former slaves taking down their masters, but as AMERICANS fighting for their country and knowing that the true honor of a U.S. soldier is in dying with no fear and no regret in order to defeat the enemy (a credo that is more or less forgotten today) making for a stirring final battle scene with most of these characters that weâve become so invested in doing just that. It is actually an unconfirmed urban legend that Matthew Broderick is a distant relative of the real Robert Gould Shaw, and Shawâs final resting place after the battle when he was thrown into a mass grave with the other black soldiers as a show of disrespect (generally it was Confederate tradition to bury fallen Union officers separately from their men) actually turned into one of ironic pride in later years when Shawâs parents, given the opportunity to exhume their sonâs body to give him a proper burial in Boston, visited the site and decided that not only were they proud of him, but that he would have preferred to be buried with his loyal men all along. And as disgusting as The Civil War was as well as the events leading up to it, it was still a conflict where both sides were fighting for what they perceived to be their freedom even as we look at our current national climate and realize that as repulsive as what it is that we see on the TV news every night, this nation can never again repeat the kind of history as portrayed here unless we can make our own peace with the idea that the greatness of this country will be no more, ever againâŚ
8/10