Film Review 12 Years a Slave Essay

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Based on a true narrative. 12 Years a Slave depicts the journey of a free black adult male in the 1840s that is kidnapped and sold into southern bondage. Aside from the capturing narrative and enormous playing. the historical truth of bondage during this clip is gut vomiting. The manager. Steve McQueen. does a singular occupation put to deathing the passage of Solomon Northup’s autobiography into a unrecorded action movie. but what makes this film so capturing? What about the movie makes the audience set up a new position on America’s dark yesteryear? The undermentioned analysis will supply some penetration to the movie and the narrative and research why this film will non merely leave you in cryings. but cause you to hold a new found regard for people that endured a life of bondage.

Before I jump into the meat of the treatment and portion my ideas it is of import to get down with a clear apprehension of the film’s narrative. In the opening scene we are introduced to Solomon Northup as a slave. The movie continues with a series of flashbacks between his present slave life and his old life as a free adult male. For the interest of lucidity I will sum up the movie in historical order. Solomon Northup. played by Chiwetel Ejiofor. grew up as a freewoman in upstate New York. His accomplishments consisted of reading and authorship. and he was besides a really gifted fiddler. Solomon was a well-respected adult male among his community and was merely like another other household adult male. Wife to Anne Hampton and male parent of two. Margaret and Alonzo ; Solomon had the life most slaves would ne’er see.

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One twenty-four hours Solomon runs into two work forces who offer him a occupation chance to which he accepts. He tells his household adieu and believes he is on the route to his new occupation. Alternatively they drug Solomon. and sell him to the slave trade. Baffled and aghast. Solomon is thrust into the horrors and inhuman treatment of the slave trade. Claiming he was a freewoman was non plenty to save his freedom. From the minute he was captured to the scene where he was sold. the movie captures the barbarous world of the slave trade and the intervention of people of colour. Aside from his journey the movie does a great service to exposing the harsh selling methods demoing how households were separated ; they were put on show. nude. for a possible purchaser to see. The whole procedure is rather disgustful.

Solomon is purchased by Master Ford of a sugar cane planation. Solomon was extremely advised against alleviating his cognition and literacy to the white work forces. but went against this when he revealed himself to his maestro. Ford was sort hearted and became fond of Solomon. doing Ford’s other white superintendents angry. They set out to kill Solomon after a few het brushs. which lead to a good 2-3 minute scene of Solomon swinging from a noose with his toes grating touching the land. Close to decease. other slaves go about their twenty-four hours in the background as he struggles to take a breath. Master Ford saves Solomon merely in clip but has to sell him away because he has caused him excessively much problem and had to settle his debt.

Solomon is sold to Master Epps of a cotton plantation. Here is where Solomon endures the most inhuman treatment and sees how annihilating life as a slave truly is. He meets Patsey. a immature black adult female who is admired by Master Epps. His infatuation with her becomes unsafe when Epps’ married woman becomes leery. Patsey. non desiring anything to make with Epps. dramas along to maintain her life. Her colza and whip scene are candidly one of the hardest thing to watch.

After old ages of snake pit on the plantation. a Canadian contractor is hired to work on the planation. Solomon finds trust in the adult male and seeks aid through him. Not long after the contactor leaves. assist finds its manner to Solomon in the signifier of an old friend. Mr. Parker. who proves he is a freedwoman and deliverances Solomon from bondage and returns him place to his household after 12 old ages.

Now with a general thought of the secret plan we can plunge deeper into the stuff. The ground why this movie will strike you different from most is because it is all true. It is a rough world that most people in society do non like to confront. Most Americans have a preconceived thought about bondage because of intermediate and high school history categories. Yes. we have all heard the talk that bondage was gross outing and a dark clip in America’s history. but no affair how in depth your teacher was no 1 could fix you for physically seeing those gross outing events.

The movie non merely captured the battle that was this man’s life. but besides demonstrated what other slaves suffered through every bit good. Sing the intervention of these human existences truly mass meetings you up. makes you truly detest the society of that clip. Sing people being treated as Canis familiariss. no. worse than Canis familiariss. objects. furuncles my blood. Actually seeing everything take topographic point makes it that much more existent. Peoples did non recognize that hurting and agony bondage caused in our state. at least non until this movie. The moving portrayed by Chiwetel Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong as Patsey. was outstanding. I genuinely believed their emotion and character. Ejiofor’s best scene is when he is eventually reunited with his household.

You can see the buildup of overpowering alleviation and felicity in his eyes and face. It was pure emotion. That emotion is what truly helps capture the audience. It gets the viewing audiences to experience along with the characters. set uping a bond between the audience and the character. When you create such a deep bond with your viewing audiences. you create compassion and self-awareness. This provokes those preconceived impressions of the thoughts of bondage and causes viwers to be more respectful to those who have suffered and for people who are still being oppressed today.

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