Within the films Glory and Django Unchained, there are several depictions of how whites viewed blacks during the time of the Civil War. Throughout the first half of the film Glory, there is a significant amount of racial resentment geared towards the black soldiers of the 54th Massachusetts regiment. Despite the fact that these black soldiers were fighting for the same cause as white soldiers within the Union Army, white soldiers viewed these black soldiers as inferior individuals who lacked the capability of performing basic military duties. In Django Unchained, Django's intellectual capacity is consistently questioned throughout the film's entirety. Despite the fact that Django speaks and reads well, white people within the film label Django as an ignorant slave who is unable to develop intellectual thoughts when speaking to southern whites. It is evident in both films that whites were reluctant to give blacks an opportunity to show that they were just as capable as whites with regard to their contributions to society. In Glory, we see that blacks are eventually given the opportunity to showcase their ability to make a significant contribution to the Union army. Contrary to these developments, white characters in the film Django Unchained continue to express racial resentment towards Django despite the fact that he proves his intellectual capacity. Within both Glory and Django Unchained, we are given a glimpse of how blacks had the capability of contributing to society to the same degree as whites if given an ample opportunity.
Despite being members of the Union army, there was still a large degree of racial sentiment geared towards the 54th Massachusetts regiment over the first part of the film Glory. These black soldiers were not given an ample opportunity to develop military skills because several white soldiers viewed these men as unable to comprehend basic orders based on the fact that these men were of a different skin color.
