Johnny Shiloh tells the story of the Civil War from the perspective of a young boy, Johnny Clem, who is later nicknamed Johnny Shiloh. In the beginning of the film, Johnny is a drummer boy. Drummer boys were important to battle because they kept the rhythm that their troops marched to. Unlike soldiers, drummer boys were not armed nor did they have any other protection. They were also often on the front lines, increasing the amount of danger that they faced. A fictional account of a drummer boy during the battle of Shiloh highlights this point, as, “I got only a drum, two sticks to beat it and no shield.” They were usually young boys not old enough to fight in battle, and this was especially true for Johnny Clem who was 10 years old. He had
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Johnny starts talking to Billy, the private assigned to keep watch over him, and they fight about which side is going to win the war. Johnny is extremely confident that the Union side will win the war with Mr. Lincoln as their leader while Billy is confident that the Confederate side will win. I chose this scene because it shows their naivety. Although both boys have such confidence in their side winning the war, there is no mention of the reason for war, other than Johnny mentioning again that the reason is to save the union. Johnny does not seem to understand what saving the union means and does not seem to care. Although Johnny is extremely passionate about the war and fighting in it, he is very innocent. Johnny does not think about the realities of war that many people on both sides will die in the process, or even that the Civil War is Americans fighting against Americans. In this movie, Disney has distorted history and diluted the impacts that the Civil War has on history. In the film, there is no mention of slavery or that Abraham Lincoln fought for emancipation. Disney romanticized the war by showing it through the perspective of Johnny Clem. Johnny Clem's only goal is to fight in the war and as shown in the beginning of the movie, he will even defy his father and run off to fight. Johnny goes through many trials and manages to stay with the troops, even though they feel that he is too young
Johnny starts talking to Billy, the private assigned to keep watch over him, and they fight about which side is going to win the war. Johnny is extremely confident that the Union side will win the war with Mr. Lincoln as their leader while Billy is confident that the Confederate side will win. I chose this scene because it shows their naivety. Although both boys have such confidence in their side winning the war, there is no mention of the reason for war, other than Johnny mentioning again that the reason is to save the union. Johnny does not seem to understand what saving the union means and does not seem to care. Although Johnny is extremely passionate about the war and fighting in it, he is very innocent. Johnny does not think about the realities of war that many people on both sides will die in the process, or even that the Civil War is Americans fighting against Americans. In this movie, Disney has distorted history and diluted the impacts that the Civil War has on history. In the film, there is no mention of slavery or that Abraham Lincoln fought for emancipation. Disney romanticized the war by showing it through the perspective of Johnny Clem. Johnny Clem's only goal is to fight in the war and as shown in the beginning of the movie, he will even defy his father and run off to fight. Johnny goes through many trials and manages to stay with the troops, even though they feel that he is too young