Essay On 12 Years A Slave
“Everyone deserves not just to survive, but to live,” stated 12 Years a Slave Director Steve McQueen during his Oscar acceptance speech for Best Picture. 12 years a Slave recounts the narrative memoir of Solomon Northup “as a free black man from the North who was kidnapped and sold into Slavery in the pre-Civil War South.” The Institution of Slavery revolutionized the political, economic, and social power of the United States. While America benefited from slave labor, those who aided in the development received no great satisfaction. Society viewed slaves as property without fundamental rights because of their skin color. Until the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, individuals like Solomon Northup would continue to be tormented
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the rest of their lives. That is not to say the abolishment of slavery eliminated the discrimination against the African-American population. For the purpose of this paper, a cinematic evaluation will be conducted on 12 years a Slave to determine its usefulness as an instructional aid for teaching Slavery based on the “good history” or “bad history” provided. 12 Years a Slave is a 2013 film produced and directed by Steve McQueen. As previously mentioned, it is about a man detained of his freedom by anti-abolitionists. The beginning of the film depicts Solomon Northup as a free African-American man living with his wife and two children in Saratoga Springs, New York. One day, he is introduced to two white men named Brown and Hamilton. They inquire about Solomon’s exceptional violinist skills and offer him short-term employment as a musician in a circus. The only exception would be having to travel with them to Washington, D.C. However, once they arrive, Solomon is deceived by the duo and held captive in a slave pen. The film proceeds detailing his journey into slavery until being declared a free man again twelve years later. The purpose of the film according to McQueen “is to get the novel into the national curriculum.” He wants for those learning about the subject of slavery to gain a full understanding of what the individuals endured. This includes but is not limited to terrible living conditions, inadequate food, poor health, harsh treatment, and so forth. As McQueen suggests “This is the Anne Frank diary of America.” The following paragraph will proceed to investigate the historical accuracy of the information presented in the movie. When it comes to the subject of slavery, we tend to disregard the “free” black population that constituted such an inhumane institution.
Many of these victims were kidnapped, renamed, and sold right here in North America. Taking into consideration the location and era of 12 Years a Slave, Solomon Northup was a free-born man because of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 that “prohibited slavery in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase territory above the north latitude.” Despite obtaining the right to freedom, Solomon was considered “nothing but a Georgia runaway.” At an early point in the movie, Solomon is transported by a dank, rat-infested steamboat to a New Orleans slave auction. The unsanitary conditions are similar to ones found during the transit of slaves from Africa to the Americas. Most captains did not provide any kinds of hygiene. The slaves' holding quarters were so hot and humid that the floor of their rooms was covered with layers of filth during most of the voyage. When Solomon arrives to New Orleans, he is renamed with an English name known as Platt Hamilton. The renaming of slaves was conventional in an attempt to erase any connection of their past. Once completed, Platt is made available for prospective buyers to evaluate and determine an appropriate bid. Slave inspections were nothing out of the ordinary. During the Middle Passage, “those found to be fit were marked on the breast for either the French, English, or Dutch companies to distinguish.” If one was
absent of any flaws, their value would tremendously increase. Another reliable piece of information presented in the movie is the whip lashings. This type of severe punishment was just one of many that slaves experienced. They were whipped, branded, tortured, and executed for the smallest infarctions to warn others of what resistance would mean.
the rest of their lives. That is not to say the abolishment of slavery eliminated the discrimination against the African-American population. For the purpose of this paper, a cinematic evaluation will be conducted on 12 years a Slave to determine its usefulness as an instructional aid for teaching Slavery based on the “good history” or “bad history” provided. 12 Years a Slave is a 2013 film produced and directed by Steve McQueen. As previously mentioned, it is about a man detained of his freedom by anti-abolitionists. The beginning of the film depicts Solomon Northup as a free African-American man living with his wife and two children in Saratoga Springs, New York. One day, he is introduced to two white men named Brown and Hamilton. They inquire about Solomon’s exceptional violinist skills and offer him short-term employment as a musician in a circus. The only exception would be having to travel with them to Washington, D.C. However, once they arrive, Solomon is deceived by the duo and held captive in a slave pen. The film proceeds detailing his journey into slavery until being declared a free man again twelve years later. The purpose of the film according to McQueen “is to get the novel into the national curriculum.” He wants for those learning about the subject of slavery to gain a full understanding of what the individuals endured. This includes but is not limited to terrible living conditions, inadequate food, poor health, harsh treatment, and so forth. As McQueen suggests “This is the Anne Frank diary of America.” The following paragraph will proceed to investigate the historical accuracy of the information presented in the movie. When it comes to the subject of slavery, we tend to disregard the “free” black population that constituted such an inhumane institution.
Many of these victims were kidnapped, renamed, and sold right here in North America. Taking into consideration the location and era of 12 Years a Slave, Solomon Northup was a free-born man because of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 that “prohibited slavery in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase territory above the north latitude.” Despite obtaining the right to freedom, Solomon was considered “nothing but a Georgia runaway.” At an early point in the movie, Solomon is transported by a dank, rat-infested steamboat to a New Orleans slave auction. The unsanitary conditions are similar to ones found during the transit of slaves from Africa to the Americas. Most captains did not provide any kinds of hygiene. The slaves' holding quarters were so hot and humid that the floor of their rooms was covered with layers of filth during most of the voyage. When Solomon arrives to New Orleans, he is renamed with an English name known as Platt Hamilton. The renaming of slaves was conventional in an attempt to erase any connection of their past. Once completed, Platt is made available for prospective buyers to evaluate and determine an appropriate bid. Slave inspections were nothing out of the ordinary. During the Middle Passage, “those found to be fit were marked on the breast for either the French, English, or Dutch companies to distinguish.” If one was
absent of any flaws, their value would tremendously increase. Another reliable piece of information presented in the movie is the whip lashings. This type of severe punishment was just one of many that slaves experienced. They were whipped, branded, tortured, and executed for the smallest infarctions to warn others of what resistance would mean.