Category: 12 Years A Slave

The films like ‘12 Years a slave’, ‘Rebirth of a Nation, ‘Within Our Gates’, ‘Daughters of the Dust’, ‘Malcolm X’, ‘Selma’ and ‘I Am Not Your Negro’ serve as instruments for the makers to employ the history of the Black people and also to provide people with knowledge about the developments that had taken place in the history of the Blacks. The films illustrate upon the journey of the Black Americans which they had taken in the American history. The Blacks have played vital roles in enhancing African-American cultures which is actually portrayed in the films. These films tend to explain a few events or people who have managed to shape the Black history in America since time immemorial. The movie ‘Within our Gates’ shows the time when people had already started to get over their fear for the Whites and talked about their cruel nature on public as shown by the makers, in ‘12 Years a Slave’, however, the time shown was the peak time when the Blacks were dumped into slavery irrespective of their societal status or gender and were just treated as very low creatures because of their color.

Interactions between the White and the Black body have dominantly been shown as that of a superior-inferior relationship. Most of these movies are actually realistic portrayals of the past and the traditional societal norms that existed among the people and therefore, a realistic portrayal would fall short if the slavery conditions of the Blacks are not portrayed. Because this factor had been inscribed in the history of the Blacks as a result of oppression and prejudices towards them. In the movie ‘Rebirth of a Nation’, this factor was not employed by the author/maker since the plot differs. In this movie, the Stoneman family are actually friends with the Camerons and this friendship that they shared got affected by the Civil War since they both had to fight in opposite armies supporting their own. This approach is quite a unique one that had been undertaken by the author in order to employ something new to the Black history in books or movies. Another interaction between the Whites and the Blacks is shown in ‘Malcolm X’ where the protagonist Malcolm’s father is murdered by the Whites and the mother is sent to a mental hospital. This is actually the author/maker’s way of portraying how cruel the practices of the Whites were towards the Blacks and how they had managed to exert oppression in every minute situation.

Both the movies ‘12 Years a Slave’ and ‘I Am Not Your Negro’ showcase White supremacy as attributes which support oppression exerted against the Black community. In the former movie, the main protagonist is shown as someone who belongs to a well-to-do family and is very happy but his life turns upside down when he falls prey to slavery because of his color and his high societal status did not hold any value to the White oppressors. However, from these social unjust treatments of the Blacks, we move on to the unfair portrayal of the Blacks in different movies in ‘I Am Not Your Negro’ where Baldwin has claimed that White American narratives dominantly exists where the hero of the movie, television series or media is always a White male while the Blacks are often offered the roles of antagonists. The writer states that even when the world has come so far from the traditional unjust treatments of the Blacks, traces of the same are still visible in the movie industry where the characters are formed based on stereotypes revolving around the Blacks. Baldwin in his own work articulates the suffering of the Blacks.

Nikole Hannah Jones had stated in the 1619 magazine that Black Americans are the true founding fathers of American nation. She had chronicled a history of policies which were enacted in order to profit from the Black Americans and also to disenfranchise them. This very point of view has been shared in the movies mentioned above to portray how the Blacks had been affected by White supremacy. The filmmakers have attempted to make this factor visible in their own works, as done in ‘12 Years a Slave’ where the White supremacy was portrayed by the way the Whites had forcibly held the Black protagonist in prison and treated him as a slave. In ‘I Am Not Your Negro’, however, the Whites have always been portrayed as the protagonists in movies traditionally. They were offered better roles as compared to that of the Blacks who were traditionally provided the role of the antagonist or characters which are almost negligible. Images of utopia and dystopia which are represented in ‘Boyz n the Hood’ showcase the invisibility that African-Americans are subjected to in societies and among people (IMDb). The Blacks are commonly subject to surveillance by the police forces whereby they have only been entitled to live within the geographic boundaries of their own hood. The Black people often face the suspicious glares of people and even the cops in real life and this very factor has been considered by the makers for a portrayal. In the plot of the movie, three Black characters have been deployed portraying them with three different plans for the future. Cuba aspires to become a college person, Ricky aspires to become a football player in the same school while Doughboy is a college dropout and therefore, becomes a crack dealing gangster. The movie maker attempts to portray the severity of drug use, gang violence, racial inequality, etc., through the movie’s plot. This realistic portrayal shows how the Blacks are moved aside into different isolated societies of their own as a result of not polluting the White societies, but this might be the main reason why most Blacks like Doughboy fall prey to such illegal practices as they have grown up in a similar place.

In ‘Within Our Gates’ the cast showcases anxiety that is associated with the rural influences of the Blacks. The Blacks are seen as people who usually have a tendency to indulge themselves in illegal works and corruptions. And in order to avoid such corrupt traces, they are forced to live in rural settings and not bring their own dirt to an urban place. The story is about a negro woman named Sylvia who visits the north to avoid all the dominant racial prejudices of her hometown in the south. She works at a school for young negroes and decides to raise money to save the school. However, as the story progresses, the maker has shown that both White and Black people had helped her in solving her problems in one way or another and she feels grateful towards everyone. She then manages to fulfil her job after returning to Piney Wood. This shows how there is not mandatorily ‘bad’ among the Blacks and nothing mandatorily ‘good’ among the Whites. Both the races hold good and bad factors and no color of the body can change or affect that.

In ‘12 Years a Slave’, the makers have employed the theme of surveillance in order to show how the Whites kept an eye on the ‘free’ Black people to involve them in slavery and sell them in markets for their own profit. The Whites had surveilled over the protagonist who was actually a well-to-do person and this had affected them so much to the extent that they felt the need to disrupt his comfort and make him their slave. They could not bear a Black person being in a similar platform as them. In ‘Malcolm X’, surveillance was employed during the part where Malcolm’s father was murdered. He was actually under the eyeing of the Whites who were in search for an opportunity to put an end to his life. In ‘Selma’, policing themes have been employed by the makers to show the demands Dr. King had made to President Johnson in order to act on Black people’s rights to vote. This is an attempt of the maker to portray how the Blacks were deprived of even the basic human rights and never given an equal status in society during the past. In ‘Lift’, the theme of surveillance has been shown as a way of intensifying the thrill engaged in the plot. The characters get stuck in an elevator which is surveilled, and this very factor adds some advantage to the thrill.

These acts of surveillance and policing against Black Americans shows how the Black people living in the nation stay under constant bounds which reminds them of the prejudices that people form towards them. They are not able to move freely and live peacefully because they feel the fear of them being watched. Such experiences had made an impact on the characters to act as instruments who portray the realistic picture of a Black person’s life and how they live on a daily basis with a reminder of injustice hovering over. This is visible in ‘12 Years a Slave’ where the main protagonist Solomon is sold as a slave and he had no other option but to accept his fate until he meets a Canadian abolitionist who changes his life forever. It is also evident in ‘Boyz n the Hood’, where Cuba, Ricky and Doughboy stay among their own community bounds even when they are aware that surveillance have been put around them. This is also a realistic picture of the contemporary treatment of the Blacks.

Employing personal worlds actually assist writers in creating a swiftly moving plot. In order to give a realistic touch to movie plots, they connect the plotline to reality in possible ways. Examining the treatments of a community in society also facilitates this ‘real’ factor which is why the writers deploy characters who exhibit real-life characteristics. In the movie ‘Within Our Gates’, Micheaux had made use of an interracial cast because he did not want to build a world which had no White people in it, he wanted to build a natural and realistic world. This movie has treated being ‘American’ as a matter of self-conception which has been represented by Micheaux through the portrayal of the Black masculinity. Black masculinity includes drugs, gambling, conspiring with White men, for selfish needs, passing for White, and criminality. The filmmaker had not idealized the community like most others and in fact called upon different Black people to question their own doings and morals.

In ‘Daughters of the Dust’, Dash has made use of numerous identity fragments for illustrating the component of American identity. These fragments include location, character and legacy. The author has made use of different locations like the island where the Ibo landing resided, Philadelphia, Nova Scotia, and a few others. These locations portray the American richness in beautiful locations mostly islands. The movie also employs varied characters like Nana Peazant, Yellow Mary, Viola Peazant, Eli, Eula and a few other minor characters. The diversity in characters are actually the makers’ attempts on assigning different cultural beliefs and practices to every single one. This propagates different cultural practices that America is rich in like Nana who practices old traditions of the Peazant family, some Caribbean and African rituals; Viola practices Christianism, Haagar who does not believe in these and considers them to be very backwards and superstitious.

In ‘Malcolm X’, the filmmakers have shown the American diversity in location as the plot includes different places like Boston, Omaha, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Detroit, etc. The makers have used these places to show the diversity that instils in the nation of America. The identity of Blacks has been lower and they have been underrepresented, this very factor also serves as a portrayal of American identity. In ‘Selma’, DuVernay has also used the same tactic of showing the American diversity by showcasing different locations like Birmingham, Alabama, Edmund Pettus Bridge, etc. The film has also shown different protests and protesters which also gives away the idea that Americans do not stand injustice, rather they fight back. In ‘12 Years a Slave’, McQueen has made use of the variedness in the North and the south of the nation and the people who dwell there. The filmmaker has made attempts of sketching a realistic picture of the societies in America and how they actually function or react when drugs is at concern. According to the filmmaker, the American identity depends on the relationship that is shared between the history, memory and slavery. He says that Black people consider their own societal role based on how they were treated in the past and comparing it with the present.

According to Dubois, the problem of the twentieth century is the relationship between the darker and the lighter races of men (Everett, 14). Racial inequality still exists in various platforms and discrimination based on this has always victimized the Black people. A similar perspective can be seen in the film ‘12 Years a Slave’, evidently the Black identity of Solomon is treated differently from the general American identity. In spite of him being an American himself, their histories make them slightly fall back. Solomon’s story shows that only well-to-do does not provide a lavish lifestyle, being both well-to-do and White does the charm.

Majority of the assimilation had not conformed with the richness of the Black worlds, and these Blacks have been forced to adopt a culture which did not even seem to support them but they are more inclined towards the White cultures. These Blacks have become alienated from the attributes of political and social cultural representation because they follow the practice of the Whites. They are expected to live in different communities and not to pollute the White communities with their crude habits just how the three brothers Doughboy, Cuba and Ricky (‘Boyz n the Hood’) were living in their own community bounds even when they had the idea that they were surveilled. Moreover, the Black people had not been given the basic rights during the past, and sadly yet this problem has still not been fully solved. Donald Bogle had suggested that there exist five stereotypes for every African American character in a movie. These stereotypes include the Coon, the Mammy, the Uncle Tom, the Buck and the Tragic Mulatto. The Coon refers to the negative characteristics which are traditionally used to dehumanize the Blacks. These words like ‘slave’ in ‘12 Years a Slave’, ‘negro’ in ‘I Am not Your Negro’, etc., have been used by the filmmakers to picture how inhumanly the Whites had treated the Blacks (Ciraulo, 88). The second stereotype is of the Mammy which refers to stereotypes that are associated with female Black maids, housekeepers, nanny, etc., and who are very loud and sassy (NMAAHC). I had come across this stereotypical character in the movie ‘Ghostbusters’ where the Black character Patty who has been portrayed as a sassy and a very loud talker, however, she has not been portrayed as bold whatsoever. The third stereotype is of a Black person who obeys White figures and is shown as an oppression to his own race. I came across this stereotypical figure while watching the movie Django Unchained where Samuel Jackson plays the character of Stephen who holds the traits of Uncle Tom. The Buck is the fourth stereotypical character who is shown as violent and brutish and sexually charged. These characters are popularly evident in hip-hop culture of the 90s and still prevail so. The last stereotype is of Tragic Mulatto who is a mixed-race character struggling to fit into Black or White groups. This is evident in Beyonce’s music videos where she is seen as of a lighter complexion at times while comparatively darker in some other covers.

In the earliest days of American film, African Americans were not in positions to produce a movie about black Americans’, Africa, or any subject pertaining to African American lives and culture, or any subject at all. Conversely, white Americans could produce, make, and distribute any kind of film they wanted and not constrained by their race. Producing a movie about African Americans and using little to no knowledge and often based on perceived behaviors and often with unflattering, grotesque versions of black people. These films were made with characterizations that were more stereotype than accurate. Mammy in Margaret Mitchell’s ‘Gone with the Wind’ is portrayed as a well-fed, jovial, loyal and happy to sacrifice for her master, mother figure and companion to Scarlet. This promotes a harmless and comfortable image for the white movie goers of the time, as well as imbedding a romanticized version of slavery pre-Civil War, as well as during the war and afterward. In reality, if this movie and character were made showing how a slave like Mammy was truly treated it would be unsettling to watch.

In the days of the silent movie many films were made exhibiting the ‘wilds of Africa’ with titles that even sound terrifying: ‘Voodoo Vengeance’ (1913), ‘The Jungle’ (1915), or ‘Forbidden Adventure’ (1915). Often these were cast with the darkest skinned actors the director could find, then directed to act like a ‘savage’ or as barbaric as the actors could muster. This only allowed whites to feed their ignorance and fear. Fast forward to the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The depictions are not as outrageous and stereotypical and tending to be truthful. Often times, the films are hard to view, as the depictions are brutally honest, or as honest as Hollywood will allow. African American films, if not telling the story of slave life or domestic servitude during the mid-20th century, the films are then of the comedy genre, rarely is something made with African Americans in a dramatic role that doesn’t involve crime or death. These genres are still catering to the Midwestern sensibilities.

Thusly, as intelligent Americans still attempt to grasp the horrors that existed within racial based slavery, film and literature have become popular mediums in which to depict the brutal nature of the barbaric institution. Members of the artistic community have lent a hand in crafting powerful narratives to shed light on the struggles of enslaved peoples of various backgrounds; these backgrounds range from the tragic kidnappings of African tribespeople and their transportation across the middle passage in heinous, reprehensible conditions, the stories of blacks born into Southern Domestic slavery, and the forceful incorporation of free people of color into the institution. Despite relentless oppression, slaves were still able to give themselves purpose in everyday life, display strength, and retain or develop a sense of individuality and a sense of community.

Though directors and authors tend to take artistic liberties in their modern interpretations of historical events, Steve McQueen and John Ridley stayed very true to Solomon Northup’s memoir ‘12 Years a Slave’ in the cinematic representation. Northup was born a freeman, and lived in Upstate New York where he worked as a laborer and musician. He was an exceptionally talented violinist, and there was sufficient demand for his work as a performer. While in his early thirties, two men asked him to accompany him on a tour to the nation’s capital, promising great earning potential. At the conclusion of the tour, Northup was drugged and sold to slave pen. The slavers used his musical talents as a distinguishing selling point, and he was soon sold at a high price to a man named William Ford. Ford was a better man than most slave owners, and gifted Solomon a fiddle to play out of appreciation for all of Solomon’s contributions on Ford’s plantation.

After Ford presented him with a new fiddle, he used music as a way to preserve his sense of individuality, playing in bondage in the hopes that he would one day play again as a freeman. While working in the fields, other slaves often sang spirituals. Solomon did not sing with them, for he refused to identify as a slave. After Ford sold Solomon to Epps, Epps demanded Solomon play for his personal entertainment. Slowly, Solomon’s music began to symbolize his oppression. The fiddle (which he carved the names of his family into) ceases to be a way to hold onto his identity of Solomon Northup, and eventually becomes a haunting reminder that he is now Platt. Toward the end of the film, we see a transition in Solomon, and he begins to give shape to his new identity as a slave. He destroys the violin so he is no longer subject to having his talents exploited, an expression of tremendous personal power. In addition, when he begins to sing with his fellow slaves while they hold a funeral, he is finally embracing a new culture and his individual role within it.

In Colson Whitehead’s ‘Underground Railroad’, he tells the story of a young girl named Cora who was born into slavery in the American South. He gives his heroine a sense of individuality within her own community in the form a small patch in which to grow vegetables. She inherited from her mother who inherited it from her mother, giving Cora a strong sense of ownership. When another slave builds a doghouse in her garden, she destroys it in order to preserve what is hers. Whitehead, and McQueen each use symbols within their works as manifestations of their character’s identities. For Solomon, it was his fiddle and music as a whole; for Cora, it was her garden.

Solomon’s life as a freeman was centered on his musical talent. It was how he often earned money and it allowed others to give him individual recognition. When he was sold into slavery, the slavers stripped him of his family, of his education, of his home, and of his freedom. Cora has added dimension that McQueen could not give their main protagonists: in addition to being oppressed because of her color, she also is also subjected to gender oppression as well. Violent rapes and sexual assaults were prevalent throughout the book, and it elaborated on the further struggles that enslaved women had. In ‘12 Years a Slave’, Patsy was raped consistently by Epps, her master. Cora not only faced threats like these, but was also raped by members of her slave community. The compounding oppression only gives her more resolve, and she finds strength in her identity as a woman which helps her continue to move forward as the story progresses. Another similarity between ‘12 Years a Slave’ and ‘The Underground Railroad’ was the use of dance and music. Both were featured on opposite ends of the spectrum, with dance and music at times representing individual freedom and unique culture, and at other times being used to convey oppression when it was done for the ‘enjoyment’ of their masters.

The debates over race and representation in American films is a contentious subject for at least the past one hundred years. As mentioned earlier in this paper, blacks are perceived as a less than in juxtaposition to whites. Many labels have been attached to African Americans, it is grotesque, unfair, and monstrously cruel. Since the beginning of this country’s history, blacks have been exploited, and act that carries onto today, just in a different manner. Before Jim Crow laws were enacted, it was their enslavement, during Jim Crow, it was still enslavement, just in another form, working menial jobs, if one could be found, for less than average pay, the brutalization still continued, used for entertainment purposes as a novelty, and in the last half century, for athletics and sports prowess. Fifty years plus have passed since the beginning of the civil rights movement began. However, the change is inadequate and bafflingly complex. Despite the small victories with African Americans in positions of power and finally being represented, the community as a whole is still undereducated, underfunded, unemployed, and continuously and unfairly labeled. All of these things have, in the past, led to the representations we see and have seen in film. Perhaps it all began with the minstrel shows of the 19th century where the actual character of a black male named Jim Crow was created. At first these depictions were meant to be humorous, and as time evolved, they became more sinister, as in the black ‘savage’ of the early 20th century. This imagery took hold and became firmly rooted in white American expectations of black people in film. It is only recently that these negative depictions are changing. How much longer will we have to endure these disgraceful representations from Hollywood? When will Hollywood depictions of minorities become truly equal? Only time will tell, however, it is only and sadly, just begun to move in the right direction.

Works Cited

1. Lyman, Stanford M. Race, Sex, and Servitude: Images of Blacks in American Cinema.
2. International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society. September 1990. Vol 4. Pp. 49-77. Web Journal. Accessed March 25, 2019.
3. Merritt, Bishetta D. Charles Burnett: Creator of African-American Culture on Film. Howard University. September 2008. Vol. 39. No. 1 pp. 109-128. Web Journal. Accessed March 25, 2019.

Slavery in the U.S. during the 1800s

Slavery was a major issue in the 1800s in the U.S. The country was divided into the North and South, where slavery was legal in the South. Most people at this time tried escaping to the North to escape slavery. Solomon Northup’s 12 Years, a Slave and Frederick Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass tells the story of what slavery was really like at this time. They both explain how they became slaves, what their lives were like, how they were treated by their owners, and how finally, after years, they were able to escape slavery.

Northup’s Harrowing Journey in “12 Years a Slave”

Northup’s 12 Years a Slave is about how he was born a free man in New York and eventually was sold into slavery. Solomon was the son of a liberated slave. He had a wife, Anne, and three children. Solomon worked several jobs so that he could support his family. One day, he comes across two white men, Hamilton and Brown, and they offer him to play the violin in a few shows around the U.S. Solomon accepts this offer so that he can make a little extra money to help his family.

However, this new job is not going very well since not too many people are showing up to the shows. They then decide they should probably try going south, so Solomon gets “free papers” to go with them without having any issues. Once they are in the South, they decide to go out and drink. After a few drinks, Solomon starts feeling ill and eventually loses consciousness. He wakes up days later, and he is in chains and imprisoned in a dark, little room. He notices that his “free papers” are stolen. He was captured by James Burch, a slave dealer.

Solomon spends a couple of weeks as a slave until he is transferred to Virginia, to a different family, where he meets Robert, another free man that was also kidnapped and forced into slavery. They are then transferred to New Orleans, where they are bought by Theophilus Freeman. Here, they meet another man, Arthur, and the three of them come up with an escape plan. However, Arthur is rescued by some friends, and Robert becomes ill and dies. Solomon is left alone but later meets a man who is able to send a letter to his friend, a lawyer, Henry B. Northup so that he can help Solomon escape.

Once Solomon is in New Orleans, he and the other slaves are bathed and dressed so that they can be sold again. This time, William Ford buys Solomon. This man is a Baptist preacher; he is more compassionate, treats his slaves better than previous owners, and teaches them about god. The only issue with this man is that he owes money to John Tibeats, so he decides to sell him to Solomon. Tibeats is rude, forces Solomon to work tirelessly, and threatens to whip him.

Solomon is then sold to two other people but ends up going back to Tibeats until he is sold to Edwin Epps. This man is worse than Tibeats; he is violent, only cares about profit, and “breaks” slaves. He has this woman as a slave, Patsey, who he rapes and mistreats often. Solomon has been a slave for about nine years at this point and still hasn’t been able to communicate with his family. When he finally gets the chance to write to them, Epps finds out and punishes him. He is forced to beat Patsey.

Epps decides to start a new project and hires a contractor, Bass, who is an abolitionist and decides to help Solomon and sends letters to his friends, who later contact Anne, his wife. Anne then talks to Henry B. Northup so that he can take Solomon’s case and free him from slavery. After several days, Northup is able to help Solomon, and he is released. They go back to New Orleans and make a case in which they complain about how a free man was sold into slavery. After this case and the charges are dropped, Northup and Solomon go back to New York, where Solomon decides to live a quiet life and humble life after suffering for 12 years as a slave.

12 Years a Slave shows how a man lived most of his life as a free man but ended up going through and experiencing the hardships of slavery. He was mistreated, beaten, and sold to multiple people. He had to wait years before he could finally get in touch with his family, and it took him a long time to get back his freedom. This story shows how hard it was to escape slavery and how miserable slaves’ lives were.

The Tortuous Path to Freedom: Douglass’ Experience

The Narrative of Frederick Douglass is another story about slavery and what it was like. However, this story’s perspective is a little different from Northup’s since Douglass was born into slavery and had to fight harder for his freedom. Frederick Douglass was separated from his mother when he was a little kid, and his father was his white master. He lived his first few years at a central plantation, “Great House Farm,” Colonel Lloyd’s plantation. He owned hundreds of slaves who were overworked, received little food, had no beds or clothes, and were beaten, whipped, and even shot by their overseers.

However, Douglass’ life was not as hard as other slaves. He worked in the household rather than out in the fields. He was sold to Hugh Auld and Sophia, his wife. She hadn’t had slaves before, so at first, she was kind and even taught him how to read. Unfortunately, as time goes by, she is not as nice to Douglass anymore, and he has to teach himself how to read and write. Learning how to read and write helps him understand how slavery works, and he finds out about the abolitionist movement. After Douglass’ father dies, he goes back to working for Thomas Auld. He doesn’t know how to manage Douglass and sells him to Edward Covey, who is known for “breaking” slaves. He beats up Douglass to the point that he is not interested in freedom or reading or writing anymore. However, Douglass is able to fight back, and Covey never touches him again.

Douglass is then rented to William Freeland. He treats him better and educates his slaves. During his time with Freeland, Douglass meets three other slaves, and they come up with a plan to escape. Unfortunately, they get caught and are sent to jail. Douglass is eventually sent back to Thomas and Hugh Auld, where he starts working in ship caulking. At this time, white workers started getting worried because they were working with free blacks and were scared they would take their jobs. Douglass deals with violence at this job, but since he is making some money, he is able to save it and eventually makes enough to escape to New York. Even though Douglass has escaped, he is scared he might get recaptured, so he changes his name from Bailey to Douglass. He eventually gets married to Anna Murray, a free woman.

The Struggle and Triumphs of Two Slaves

Both books, 12 Years a Slave and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, tell stories of what life was like as a slave. They explain how hard their lives were and how they were sold to different owners very often. Slaves were mistreated, beaten, whipped, had no beds, and got little food and clothes. Escaping slavery was usually very hard, and they were often caught during their attempts.

References:

1. Northup, S. (1853). Twelve Years a Slave. Auburn: Derby and Miller.
2. Douglass, F. (1845). Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Boston: Anti-Slavery Office.

Patsy’s Torturous Reality in “12 Years a Slave”

Second, the film talked about a woman slave named Patsy. She seems like a woman that was mentally, physically, and spiritually drained, especially having to deal with the slave master and his wife. It was like Patsy got punished in multiple ways. She was sexually abused and tortured by the mistress cutting her face, throwing things at her, letting her starve, and not being able to clean herself. In class, we learned to fear the mistress. She was jealous and mean and would do anything it took to punish the slave her husband was fond of. The mistress could not leave her husband because she would have nothing, so she stayed and tortured the slaves to get her way.

In the film, it seems like when Patsy was being whipped by Platt, it was not hard enough for her, so her husband took over, and the lashes on her back would make any person cringe. Knowing what slaves had to go through breaks my heart. The mental and physical state they were in through slavery was heartbreaking. During slavery, many slaves ran away, some were free, and many died as a slave. On the ship and the plantation, the slave women were being sexually abused, and the slave men could not do anything about it. The film showed one slave man trying to protect the slave woman and was killed for it.

The Depth and Precision of McQueen’s Production

When a slave dies on the ship, they are thrown overboard, and on the plantation, the slave gives them a funeral and buries them. Steven McQueen built an awesome production. Doing the research from top to bottom, inside and out. I had to do some research on the creator of this film and to know where the film took place on different parts of the land across from where Solomon Northup was enslaved on the plantation, which brings chills down my spine.

Knowing where they were filming and getting into character made it even more important for the film to be a great one. Having to reenact what happened to our ancestors and what they went through during slavery made me wonder how they can get their minds to stay focused and not break character in rehearsal, at the table readings, and on film. This film might be hard to watch, but you do get a better understanding. This film makes you angry and emotional throughout the film. It takes you on a journey through slavery and the cruelty they endured. After watching the movie, I sat back for a while and had to take it all in.

Solomon’s Triumphant Return

The undeniable mistreatment of our ancestors had me enraged, yet beyond the surface, there is an amazing story of one’s hope, fortitude, and perseverance. After reading the exit comments, Solomon’s actions in choosing to make change versus remaining a silent or outraged victim (which would have been justifiable) are admirable. He wrote his slave narrative, helped with the underground railroad, and became an abolitionist for slaves to be free.

At the end of the film, Platt is confined in Bass one last time, and Bass finally sends the letter to Platts’s friend; the letter gets to Platts’s friend because they showed up at the plantation to get Plats. They asked him some questions, and Platt became Solomon again and got his freedom back. I cried when Solomon walked into his home and saw his wife and children standing there, he said that he was so sorry, and they embraced him. It was like meeting your family all over again. Solomon got to meet his grandson, who was named after him. Even though he was free again, his mental state was changed while being a slave, being someone’s property for twelve years, and not being able to do anything he wanted to do because he had to listen to the owner.

Reflection and Lessons from “12 Years a Slave”

In conclusion, the idea that any American could have his or her freedom taken from them and forced into a position of a Slave for 12 years is beyond comprehension. However, there are two sides to every coin and an uphill and downhill experience to every climax. We find that on the other side of this challenge of being a black man in a country where laws were written to enslave people who look like you for whatever reason they saw fit was the decision this man made to remain resolute and to demonstrate courage in the face of adversity and the ability to change your situation if you’re able to think, accept and embrace your own personal 12 years and fight from the standpoint of intelligence. This film achieves the goal sought after by driving home the horror of being a Slave and the strength to overcome slavery.

References:

1. McQueen, S. (Director). (2013). 12 Years a Slave [Film]. Regency Enterprises.
2. Northup, S. (1853). Twelve Years a Slave: Narrative of Solomon Northup, a Citizen of New-York, Kidnapped in Washington City in 1841, and Rescued in 1853. Auburn: Derby and Miller.

The Origins of Slavery in America

Slavery has been a big issue since the beginning of civilization. Its traced all the way back to when Europeans first settled in America. The first affected by Slavery were the Native Americans. They were the first victims of Slavery because they were seen as minorities. Spaniards captured many of them to take them back to their home. According to the book, Columbus promised the Spanish crown gold and slaves. Columbus stated, “With fifty men, they can all be subjugated and made to do what is required of them.” Many slaves suffered because they were exposed to a new environment and new diseases.

During the 1500s, Slavery was increasing throughout the world. Around 1503, a man named Juan del ponce raided Florida for slave raids. Around 1598, another man named Juan de Oñate led four hundred settlers, soldiers, and missionaries from Mexico into New Mexico. There, he had ordered to cut off a foot of every single male over the age of fifteen, and he enslaved the remaining women and children. There were many Indian slaves who would kill themselves because they could not resist harsh lives as slaves. Those who would be competent with the life of Slavery would not marry because they refused to bring in children only to have them enslaved in the future.

African Slavery and Its Expansion

The most common Slavery we know with African Americans began when the Dutch advanced the slave trade and brought African slaves with them to the New World. Slavery was an essential part of Dutch capitalist triumphs. There were companies that would capture slaves and sell them to rich white people or were forced to work on big projects. For example, slaves in 1926 were assigned to build New Amsterdam, also currently known as New York City. They were also tasked to build a defensive wall that Is known as the modern-day Wall Street. During the early 17th Century, African Slavery was very common.

Some slaves sued for back wages and won. Many other company-owned slaves fought for the colony against the Munsee Indians and also won. Although they didn’t win their whole freedom, they had” half freedom.” Not many were as lucky as this slave; the Dutch slaves suffered terribly. According to the book, the Dutch came to exist alongside increasingly brutal systems of Slavery. Brazil wasn’t left behind in the slave trade. Over the entire history of the Atlantic slave trade, more Africans were enslaved in Brazil than in any other colony in the Atlantic World. Slave trading made sugar brought in more money than any other commodity.

The Rise and Impact of Slavery in the South

Slaves grew more and more until they finally reached the South. In 1619, a Dutch slave ship sold twenty Africans to the Virginia colonists, and that started Slavery. Africans were even chained until they reached their destinations, like Jamestown. African Americans were not only physically abused, but they were also mentally abused. They were denied humanity and were treated as a whole separate race. They thought that “blackness” was a sin. They even brought religious beliefs with them. They believed that god had punished black people. They preached that in the Old Testament, God cursed Ham, the son of Noah, and doomed black people to perpetual enslavement. Slavery was booming, and the economy grew increasingly dependent on slave labor.

Dissent and Opposition to Slavery

Not everyone agreed on Slavery. In 1706, Reverend Francis Le Jau quickly grew disillusioned by the horrors of American Slavery. He met with slaves who were ravaged by the Middle Passage. Ministers also felt bad for slaves. They would Baptize and educate slaves but frightened the masters. Alexander Falconbridge, a slave ship surgeon, described the sufferings of slaves from shipboard infections and close quarters in the hold. Historians estimate that between 24,000 and 51,000 Native Americans were forced into Slavery. Native American slaves died quickly, mostly from disease, but others were murdered or died from starvation. Slave ships transported 11–12 million Africans to destinations in North and South America. Slavery was expanding, and there was no stopping it. Beginning in the 1440s, ship captains carried

African slaves to Portugal. Charleston, South Carolina, became the leading entry point for the slave trade on the mainland.
As a proportion of the enslaved population, there were more enslaved women in North America than in other colonial slave populations. Slavery was blackening people’s life. Slave owners didn’t care at all for this “race” They even passed last, stating that the slave’s children would get passed on the mother’s “condition.” This meant that after the mother passed away, the children would have to fill in for the mother and do the job she was working on. Slavery was not only hard work; they were limited to everything, including their personal lives. Slaves were only seen as help. They weren’t even allowed to marry people they worked with, slave or not. Mixed-racial marriage was also not approved of. Slave marriages were not recognized in colonial law.

Slavery went through a rough time, but later, Slavery was seen as wrong and was even tried to stop, but it was not easy. The North and South began to clash over federal policy as Northern states gradually ended Slavery, but Southern states came to depend even more on slave labor. According to Tallmadge, Slavery was cruel and mocked the Constitution. This is because the Constitution claims freedom to all men, no matter their color, race, or ethnicity. He pro- posed that Congress should admit Missouri as a state only if bringing more slaves to Missouri was prohibited, and children born to the slaves there were freed at age twenty-five. Many other states argued about Slavery, many would be for it, and many would be against it. Missouri became pro-slavery while others, like Maine, would be declared a free state.

Slavery had many wars and fights about it. There were many angry white people who were against the free states and fought to bring Slavery back, claiming that African Americans were born to be slaves. For example, In Philadelphia, thousands of white rioters torched an antislavery meeting house and attacked black churches and homes. Slavery was a big issue, and Racial tensions also influenced popular culture. The white actor Thomas Dartmouth Rice appeared on stage in blackface, singing and dancing as a clownish slave named “Jim Crow.”

Many other white actors copied him. There was a battle between the whites and blacks. Many antislavery supporters organized boycotts of consumer products like sugar that came from slave labor, and they sold their own hand-made goods at antislavery fund-raising fairs. For many of them, the antislavery movement was a way to participate in “respectable” middle-class culture, a way for both men and women to have a say in American life.

“12 Years a Slave” in the Cotton Era

During the cotton era, Slavery was at one of its highest peaks. It was a cruel and horrible time to be a slave. Working long shifts and long hours picking cotton. Without Slavery, there could be no Cotton Kingdom, no massive production of raw materials stretching across thousands of acres worth millions of dollars. According to the book, “Slavery became a way of life, especially as farmers expanded their lands, planted more crops, and entered the international trade market.

Over the course of the 1830s, 1840s, and 1850s, Slavery became so endemic to the Cotton Belt that travelers, writers, and statisticians began referring to the area as the Black Belt, not only to describe the color of the rich land but also to describe the skin color of those forced to work its fields, line its docks, and move its products.” African Americans were sold as slaves at many different prices. Prices for slaves varied drastically, depending on skin color, sex, age, and location, both of purchase and birth. In Virginia in the 1820s, for example, a single female slave of child-bearing age sold for an average of $300. An unskilled man above age eighteen sold for approximately $450. Boys and girls below age thirteen sold for around $100 and $150.

Cotton was the foundation of the Southern economy, and the idea of free slaves was not an idea. Since cotton was what helped run the economy, no slavery was just not an option. No one would work in the fields, and therefore, no money would go back into the economy. The Cotton Revolution was a time of capitalism, panic, stress, and competition. Slavery was found in both men and women. They were treated the same. Sometimes women had to do the job of the men.

Some even faced Sexual violence, unwanted pregnancies, and constant childrearing while continuing to work the fields, all of which made life as a female slave more prone to disruption and uncertainty. Slaves would often receive Christian instruction from white preachers or masters, whose religious message typically stressed slave subservience. Many slaves chose to create and practice their own versions of Christianity, one that typically incorporated aspects of traditional African religions with limited input from the white community.

Rebellion, War, and the End of Slavery

After so many years of Slavery, the rebellion would soon show. A man named Turner led the most deadly slave rebellion in the antebellum South. According to the book, Turner initiated the violence by killing his master with an ax blow to the head. By the end of the day, Turner and his band, which had grown to over fifty men, killed fifty-seven white men, women, and children on eleven farms. By the next day, the local militia and white residents had captured or killed all of the participants except Turner, who hid for a number of weeks in nearby woods before being captured and executed. The white terror that followed Nat Turner’s rebellion transformed southern religion, as anti-literacy laws increased and black-led churches were broken up and placed under the supervision of white ministers. Turner didn’t end Slavery, but he began the end of Slavery.

During the civil war, many African Americans were forced to join and fight for the country. Many were promised freedom after the war. Slavery was also controversial when it came to the government. Slavery’s existence was the essential core of the fledging Confederacy. Slavery also became controversial within politics as well. The Republican Party had risen as an antislavery faction committed to “free labor.” Many slaves began to run away from their captures. They were punished if found. They revolted and fought for their freedom. There have been many iconic faces that have been connected to freedom from Slavery.

Although Slavery eventually ended in 1865 because of laws and the emancipation proclamation. War also ensured the end of Slavery. Because racism is something that is connected to it. Racism didn’t stop when Slavery did. African Americans had their freedom, but they still faced another challenge of racism. Today, Slavery is illegal. Although there are still forms of Slavery, like human trafficking, it is not as harsh as Slavery back then. We must fight to end Slavery once and for all.

Solomon Northup: A Free Man’s Life in “12 Years a Slave”

In ’12 Years, a Slave’ chapters I and II, Northup tells of his lifestyle as a free black man living in upstate New York. Born in July 1808, he was the son of an emancipated slave. He grew up working on a farm at his father’s side and was once trained to a degree of competence in studying and writing. What’s more, he learned to play the violin, a skill that would be both a blessing and curse to him in the coming years. At age 21, he married Anne Hampton, and they settled down to increase a family. Solomon labored in many trades, consisting of farming, lumberjacking, and performing on the violin, while Anne earned cash as a cook. They had three children.

A Deceptive Trap and Solomon’s Dark Descent

In 1841, Solomon met two white men who supplied him beneficial work with a circus—if he would journey with them to Washington, D.C. Unsuspecting, he joined them in their travels and in Washington, D.C., after a day of uncommon revelry and drinking, grew to be terribly ill. On his way to see a doctor, he exceeded out. When he woke up, Solomon Northup used to be alone, chained in darkness. Chapters III–VI relates how Solomon finds himself a prisoner in the slave pen of James H. Burch, a brutal slave dealer in Washington, D.C. When Solomon protests his captivity and asserts his right to freedom, Burch responds by beating him into submission and threatening to kill him if he ever mentions his freedom again.

Forced Identity and Sale in New Orleans

At length, Solomon is allowed to join the different slaves being held by means of Burch, and he discovers just how hopeless his state of affairs is. Surrounded by slaves and a few different kidnap victims, he is transported downriver, ultimately landing in New Orleans, Louisiana. Solomon and the relaxation of “Burch’s gang” are transferred into the slave pen of Burch’s associate, Theophilus Freeman. Freeman changes Solomon’s identity to “Platt,” thereby erasing any connection to his past. Solomon is put up for sale. However, his sale is delayed when he contracts smallpox, which almost kills him. After he finally recovers, he is sold, alongside a slave lady named Eliza, to a man named William Ford.

Life under Master Ford and Sale to Tibeats

Next starts offevolved the 0.33 leg of Solomon Northup’s journey, advised in Chapters VII–XI. Solomon is now a full-fledged slave named “Platt,” working on the plantation and lumber mill of William Ford, deep in the heart of Louisiana. Ford is a kindly master, devout in his Christian faith, and given generosity toward his slaves. Solomon finds it nearly a pleasure to be in Ford’s carrier and even figures out a way for Ford to keep substantial time and cash by means of transporting lumber via waterway rather than by way of the land. Solomon is fashionable by way of Ford in return. However, a collection of economic missteps resulted in Ford selling Platt to a merciless woodworker named John M. Tibeats.

Tibeats soon turns into Platt’s worst enemy, constantly threatening and berating him. While working on a project, Tibeats becomes so enraged that he tries to whip Platt. Platt is the improved of the two, though, and he turns the tables on his new master, whipping him instead. Hell-bent on revenge, Tibeats twice attempts to homicide Platt. Only the intervention of William Ford and his overseer, Mr. Chapin, saves the slave’s life. Unable to kill him but bearing murderous hatred towards him, Tibeats sells Platt to the notorious “nigger breaker,” Edwin Epps.

The fourth phase of Solomon Northup’s 12 Years a Slave, informed in Chapters XII–XX, focuses on the ten years he lived beneath the tyranny of Edwin Epps on two one-of-a-kind plantations in Bayou Boeuf alongside the banks of the Red River in Louisiana. Epps is indeed a cruel master. A whip is his constant companion, and he makes use of it almost daily on his slaves. Solomon describes his lifestyle below Epps in detail, concerning stories of abuse, humiliation, and deprivation among all the slaves.

Patsey, a slave girl, receives the worst of Epps’ treatment: She is again and again raped by him and additionally whipped by using him at the insistence of his jealous wife. At the worst point, she visits a buddy at a close by plantation simply to get a bar of cleaning soap due to the fact Epps’ wife won’t enable her to have any. When Patsey returns, Epps is furious, wondering about her responsible for a sexual encounter. Platt is forced to whip a naked, helpless Patsey whilst she screams for mercy.

The years skip by, and Solomon nearly loses hope. Then he meets a chippie named Bass, an abolitionist from Canada who is hired to work on a building venture for Epps. Bass learns of Solomon’s story and decides to help. He sends letters to Solomon’s friends in the North, asking them to come and rescue the slave from his captivity.

The ultimate area of 12 Years of Slave, Chapters XXI and XXII (and Appendix), tells of Solomon’s getaway from captivity. Thanks to the faithfulness of Bass, Solomon’s pals in the North are alerted to his vicinity and come to set him free. Henry B. Northup, a white man who is a relative of the individual who once owned Solomon’s father, gathers prison assistance and travels to Louisiana to locate the slave. After some searching, he finds “Platt” and, with the assistance of a nearby sheriff, emancipates him from the clutches of Edwin Epps.

They tour back to New York, stopping for a time in Washington, D.C., to pursue legal expenses in opposition to James H. Burch for his position in the kidnapping of Solomon Northup. In the end, though, Burch is acquitted due to the fact of false witnesses and racist bias in the courtroom. After that, Solomon is subsequently reunited with his family in Saratoga Springs, New York, the place he finds that his daughter has married and he is now a grandfather. His grandson has been named in his honor: Solomon Northup Staunton.

References:

1. Northup, Solomon. “12 Years a Slave.” New York, A. Simpson & Co., 1853.
2. Smith, John. “Identity and Freedom in Solomon Northup’s ’12 Years a Slave’.” Journal of African-American Studies, vol. 30, no. 2, 2021, pp. 150-165.

Steve McQueen’s Adaptation of “12 Years a Slave”

The film 12 Years a Slave is directed by Steve McQueen, who based this narrative on Solomon Northup’s autobiographical experience. The film exposes the brutality of slavery and the dehumanizing repercussions of human subjugation. Initially, the film was created entirely different from the 1853 classic narrative until its producers discovered Northup’s narrative and the importance of historical documents in relation to this film.

This film depicts Solomon Northup, an African American man who is now a free citizen in New York, during his years of slavery. Northup is approached by two men who persuade him to be sold into slavery by promising him a lucrative career. The two men’s motives, on the other hand, are to make money by selling him. Northup had a wife and two children and was a free man in New York. The injustices he confronts after realizing that all he is now to White folks is a black man on a plantation are horrifying. While McQueen’s adaptation of Twelve Years a Slave is essentially accurate to Northup’s original story, it overlooks some of the more uncomfortable subjects that surround slave history.

A Historical Dive into Slavery’s Origins and Structure

Such a justification has resulted in a ‘chain of silence’ about slavery, or the obscurity of enslaved people as historical subjects, which has been exacerbated by the continuance of racism. Chapter four of the book, in the 2013 publication, addresses the slave system. Tobacco and cotton could be developed by farmers with the assistance of a few farm workers. The local people had been wiped out due to the first European settlers. So, farmers were brought from Europe while on the British islands; these farmers were indentured servants and sentenced prisoners.

Indentured servants are women and men who consented to work for a given number of years for a fixed wage, their board, and the cost of their voyage out to the islands. Sentenced prisoners could be transported to the plantations for a given amount of terms rather than being killed or imprisoned. This framework did not supply enough labor as the tobacco farms became sugar plantations. Sugar required a huge number of workers.

The Portuguese had been utilizing enslaved Africans to grow sugar in the Madeira Islands since 1460. Africa was nearer to the Caribbean than Europe was. African atmosphere was similar to the Caribbean. Europeans claimed that the ‘uncivilized’ Africans were not human. This kind of reasoning enabled the inhumanity of slavery to be dismissed. Therefore, Africa appeared to be the obvious place for labor for the sugar plantations.

Hierarchy and Work in the Plantations

There was a strict ‘social order’ on the plantations. The white owner was at the highest of the social structure. Under the white owner are other white employees, for example, bookkeepers and overseers. Among the black slaves, carpenters or sugar boilers were above ordinary field slaves. The head of the field slaves were women and men called ‘drivers,’ whose job was to keep the field slaves working diligently by using the whip if necessary.

Those slaves who worked in the house were thought to be of a higher status than field slaves. It would be a horrible punishment for a house servant to be put to do field work due to the lighter obligations in the house. There was an order based on skin tones. The darkest slaves normally had the hardest job/work. The light-skinned slaves, frequently the offspring of the owner or manager by a slave woman, were given better jobs or kept as house servants or trained for a job. A few slaves worked in towns. However, the majority worked on plantations for 12 hours or more a day.

Plantation work requires numerous hands. Sugar, particularly, was a labor-intensive job, and everybody was required to work, including kids and old slaves. Work on a plantation relied upon harvest development. For instance, the process of sugar required different skills from those needed for tobacco and rice. There were skilled jobs that Africans did: such as blacksmiths, sugared boilers, carpenters, etc. These jobs generally went to men.

Women, for the most, did the hands-on work. However, some worked as house slaves. Frequently, men were brought from Africa as slaves compared to women, but some plantation owners favored women as the ‘harder laborers.’ Sometimes women outnumbered the men, which meant that they had to do all the heavy fieldwork, such as digging and cutting. Moreover, ‘marriages between slaves were demoralized although many slaves formed connections and had children’.

Frequently the relationship was with a slave from a different estate. ‘Plantation owners were known to arrange a spouse or accomplice to flog his own wife for an offense’. In the event that the slaves were claimed by various estates, that couldn’t occur. Slave women were routinely assaulted by white men on the estate, by their owner, or by a white employee. A few women were forced to utilize sexual favor to white men in order to survive or to acquire better conditions.

The triangle slave trade began vigorously. Prior to this, a small number of Africans had been kidnapped or purchased by Europeans and taken to Europe or to European-claimed islands. In any case, as the development of the sugar plantation took off, and the demand for labor increased, the quantities of enslaved Africans transported to the Caribbean islands and to mainland North and South America expanded massively.

A Cinematic Reflection on Historical Brutality

The presentation of the historical event was a fair presentation because the director Steve McQueen’s extraordinary direction utilized close-ups and poignant images of rustic Louisiana in the times of slavery, which just added to the colossal tragedy of Northup’s frightening story. Enslaved people are normally depicted as having ‘trees of scars’ on their backs, which is the consequence of brutal whippings they got from their masters or other people. This film shows the consistency of such treatment. In one incident, Epps forced Solomon Northup to whip another slave, Patsey, to the point where they fell down from pain.

However, Patsey’s ‘wrongdoing’ was to leave the plantation in search of a bar of soap to wash herself. I believe that the director Steve McQueen presented different perspectives fairly because the film is a startlingly precise and evident record of the common slave experience in the South. This film serves as a timeless indictment of the practices of ‘chattel bondage’ or ‘human slavery’. Northup’s enumerating the abuse he endured and those he was forced to incur warns all generations of the moral cost that slavery demands from everyone involved. The slave herself or himself is debased, created to endure awful torments, and brutally robbed of emotional, physical, and riches.

Introduction

“12 Years a Slave,” directed by Steve McQueen and based on the autobiography of Solomon Northup, is a powerful and harrowing portrayal of slavery in America. The film raises significant ethical questions and prompts viewers to reflect on the moral implications of slavery and the actions of individuals involved. This essay will analyze the ethical dimensions depicted in ’12 Years a Slave,’ exploring the themes of human dignity, moral responsibility, and the complexities of complicity.

Human Dignity

The central ethical concern in ’12 Years a Slave’ is the violation of human dignity inflicted upon enslaved individuals. The film exposes the inhumane treatment, physical abuse, and psychological torment endured by enslaved people. The depiction of these atrocities forces viewers to confront the fundamental question of human worth and the moral imperative to uphold human dignity.

Solomon Northup’s struggle to maintain his dignity and preserve his identity amidst the dehumanizing institution of slavery serves as a poignant example. Through his character, the film emphasizes the inherent value and rights of every individual, irrespective of their race or social status.

Moral Responsibility

’12 Years a Slave’ explores the concept of moral responsibility, highlighting the choices made by both the perpetrators and witnesses of slavery. The film challenges viewers to consider the ethical implications of passive acceptance, complicity, and active participation in systems of oppression.

The character of Edwin Epps, a ruthless slave owner, raises questions about individual moral agency and the responsibility to resist or challenge injustice. The actions of characters like William Ford and Mistress Shaw, who display varying degrees of sympathy and compassion towards enslaved individuals, further complicate the ethical landscape.

Complicity and Moral Ambiguity

The film also delves into the complexities of complicity and moral ambiguity in the context of slavery. ’12 Years a Slave’ portrays individuals who are complicit in the perpetuation of slavery, either through their direct involvement or their silence. This raises important questions about the culpability of those who benefit from an unjust system or turn a blind eye to its horrors.

Characters such as Tibeats and Armsby exemplify the range of responses to slavery, from outright hostility to self-preservation. The film challenges viewers to consider the moral obligations of individuals who find themselves entangled in systems of oppression and the potential moral compromises they may face.

Historical Context and Contemporary Relevance

’12 Years a Slave’ not only offers a historical account but also invites reflection on the present-day implications of the narrative. The film serves as a reminder that ethical issues and the struggle for justice continue to persist in different forms today. It prompts viewers to examine their own attitudes, prejudices, and complicity in contemporary injustices.

The film’s portrayal of the systemic nature of slavery and the individuals who perpetuated or resisted it raises broader questions about social responsibility and the need for collective action to challenge and dismantle unjust systems.

Conclusion

In conclusion, ’12 Years a Slave’ confronts viewers with profound ethical questions surrounding human dignity, moral responsibility, and the complexities of complicity. The film serves as a powerful testament to the atrocities of slavery and challenges individuals to reflect on their own moral agency and engagement with systems of oppression.

By analyzing the ethical dimensions depicted in ’12 Years a Slave,’ viewers are compelled to confront uncomfortable truths and grapple with the profound moral implications of historical and contemporary injustices. The film reminds us of the enduring importance of recognizing the inherent worth and dignity of every individual and the ongoing imperative to confront and address systemic oppression.

Solomon Northup’s book “Twelve Years a Slave” is a Narrative directly from the person himself, Solomon Northup who experienced a personal journey of slavery directly through the experience of kidnapping and being sold as a slave in slave markets. Solomon Northup’s experience dates back to the mid-1800s and it is fair to say that Solomon’s book is one of the oldest books that have a narrative that is direct from the source and is told and described from a first-hand experience and not a secondary source. Northup’s evidence of his experience of slavery is purely from his memory, and the experiences that he endured. We can say that Northup’s evidence of slavery (during the period in which he grew up and was captured) lines up with the recorded history of slavery that many African Americans experienced during the 1800s.

Saidiya Hartman’s books on slavery are written a century apart. Hartman uses an immense amount of research to write on the experiences that slaves in the early 1900s experienced during slavery and even after the slavery period when the slave laws were abolished as well as the evident racism and discrimination that many African Americans faced. For example (Jim Crow law, etc). Hartman’s research also derives from secondary sources such as the experiences of slavery that were told by her ancestors and passed down her family line for generations. Hartman started involving more research that didn’t just brush the surface when her research that she found only touched on the topics of accounts written by slave master owners. For example, Hartman found research that was a diary entry from a slave owner that stated how he would abuse one of his slaves and what punishments he issued. While this diary entry contributed significantly to Hartman’s research involving the abuse of slaves, Hartman was interested in looking at slavery from the slaves’ view and producing accurate findings on the experiences of slaves and all that they endured as well as the effects after the abolishment of the slave law such as the continued racial discrimination of the African Americans.

By analyzing Solomon Northrup and Saidiya Hartman’s writing, it is fair to say that Northup’s writing was based on his personal experience of slavery as well as his first-hand accounts of the gross violation of human rights. Hartman’s writing is based on secondary sources (experiences told from her ancestors as well as the research she has done) thus her evidence is not from a primary source but rather secondary. Although both Northup and Hartman have contrasting use of evidence (Northup’s personal experience of slavery) and (Hartman’s evidence on the experience of slavery from secondary sources and accounts), to analyze the aim of their writing is on the experiences that slaves went through (which was not pleasant) and the mistreatment and abuse of African Americans as they were seen as animals and not human beings. Their evidence is contrasting but their aims are similar.

Berlin argues that the memory of slavery promotes a dual message; one of “the dehumanizing force of slavery and the slaves’ refusal to be dehumanized” (Berlin, 1265). The transatlantic slavery trade and chattel slavery violated the freedom and robbed Africans of their basic human rights, but it did not “define the society and culture that slaves produced” (Berlin 1264). Both sources this essay looks at will touch on Berlin’s argument and consequently whether we should see the enslaves as pitiful victims or unwavering heroes. With this in mind, this essay will argue that despite both the narrative and film addressing both themes, agency and resistance is the dominant theme in Douglass’s narrative whereas victimization is the dominant theme in the film. The next section of the essay will aim to define the terms agency, resistance and victimization. Following on from this the role of slave agency and resistance will be discussed in ‘Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass’ and then victimization in the film ‘12 Years A Slave’.

Understanding the definition of agency is vital in order to understand enslaved narratives since every aspect of a slave’s life revolves around the lack of it. Agency in sociology is defined as an individual’s capacity to act freely in their choices and make decisions independently (Barker). The social structure refers to factor of influences that limit an agent’s choices. Johnson is critical of this definition because an overemphasis on the word agency undermines the cruelty that dictated the lives of the enslaved and its scholarly meaning has lumped together various actions, making it harder to distinguish between the cultural and political framings ‘agency’ took place in. Instead, we should imagine “the lives of the enslaved people as powerfully conditioned by, though not reducible to, their slavery” (Johnson, 115). Seeing agency based on this definition allows us to link certain actions of agency with resistant whilst keeping the two separates because as Johnson argues using the two synonymously prevents us from shedding light on the daily experiences of the enslaved. Orlando Patterson’s concept of ‘social death’ sheds light on the restrictions placed on the enslaved by slavery. “The slave was usually powerless in relation to another individual” (Patterson, 4) because the threat of violence was used to dominate them. Therefore, the only way to gain their agency back was through rebellion, even if that meant being punished. Fighting against their masters would eliminate the domination they had over the enslaved even if just for a brief period. The OED defines resistance as “the refusal to accept or comply with something”. There are physical and psychological forms of resistant present in relation to slavery. It also defines victimization as the action of singling someone out for cruel or unjust treatment (Oxford English Dictionary). Both sources take each concept into consideration but as mentioned each has a dominate theme running through them.

‘Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass’ is a story of rebellion and a strong-willed individual who did not let his status as a fugitive state stop him from speaking about his experience, his life as slave. Its popularity surged during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement because of how it resonated with ties of resistance and agency, yet the purpose of the narrative when it was published was to try and convince white Americans, especially those in the north that slavery was wrong. Paradoxically Douglass needed to help of white men in William Garrison and Wendell Philips to attest that his work was entirely his and truthful. In this sense his agency is not his own but that provided for with the help of these white men. Patterson defines slavery as “the permanent, violent, and personal domination of naturally alienated and generally dishonored persons” (‘Slavery and Social Death’, 13). This book, despite its need for the support of white abolitionist is a direct challenge to Patterson’s statement. Douglass sees himself as a representative of a whole group of people rather than an alienated individual. By drawing on his own experiences and the experiences of other enslaved people he showed that he did not lack in agency. Instead, he used his agency to highlight how slavery was in no way humane and that the enslaved were aware of the injustices occurring to them.

The enslaved were stripped of their agency during slavery by being kept ignorant of knowing things like their date of birth and being separated from their family. Douglass recalls at the start of the narrative that he was confused as to why the white children knew their age, but he was not even allowed to ask his own. He was also separated from his mother, a practice aimed at breaking the natural bond between a mother and her child which is successful in the case of Douglass: “I received the tidings of her death with much the same emotions I should have…felt at the death of a stranger” (Douglass, 3). This situation removes the connection Douglass has to his ancestry, his individual identity and the support network that a family provides in one’s life. He points out that he shares this with all enslaved people, highlighting the systematic abuse that was taking place. Their agency is removed because they are being deprived a part of their identity. The lack of agency can also be seen in Douglass’s vivid description of the victimization of female slaves, starting with that of his Aunt Hester. She was stripped naked and “now stood fair for his infernal purpose” (7). The gruesome description of the violent inflicted upon female slaves was meant to fuel anger in the reader. Even Douglass’s ethnicity highlights to his lack of agency. He didn’t know who his father was but from what he had heard it could have been his master, who would have raped his mother. If this were true Douglass’s own existence was as a result of his mother’s agency being taken from her.

Despite the clear examples of agency being stripped away in ‘Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass’ the quote, “slaves ‘naturally’ resisted their enslavement because slavery was fundamentally unnatural” (Knight) highlights why resistance was so strongly connected with slavery. The unnatural state of oppression slavery caused was bound to cause the enslaved to react because they were only human. It is because of slavery being fundamentally unnatural that allows the theme of resistance to play such a presiding rule in the narrative. Douglass presented learning to read and write as the greatest form of resistance for an enslaved person. Chapter VI represents a minor climax, but plays a crucial role in Douglass becoming aware of his agency and how he can regain it despite the awful conditions he found himself in. The chapter sees Mr. Auld banning his wife from teaching Douglass how to write stating that “learning would spoil the best nigger in the world…he would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master” (33). Mr. Auld’s words had confirmed to Douglass that slavery was not natural but fabricated through a power strategy to keep the enslaved ignorant. Learning to write would provide them with self-sufficiency, it would allow them to start questioning the morals of slavery and even tell their stories to the rest of the country who had “no conception of the depth of degradation involved” (Jacobs, 14) in slavery. In short, it would give them agency.

By losing value to his master as a commodity, an enslaved person would automatically gain agency because they would be able to define who they were rather than being told by someone else their worth. Douglass now realizes that he was not born a slave, but made into one, his deemed inferior to white people was not a preexisting quality but a result of slavery. This chapter is therefore key because despite efforts to stop Douglass from continuing to read and write, “the first step had been taken. Mistress, in teaching me the alphabet, had given me an inch, and no precaution could prevent me from taking the ell” (38). He had been given his agency in the form of realization and in turn resistance would organically follow.

A content slave is a thoughtless one Douglass argues, (98) if he is constantly trying to survive then he has no time to think about freedom. When Douglass becomes aware of the strategy his consciousness began to suffer. As Auld predicts, a learned slave is able to understand the injustice of slavery but can’t act upon it physically by escaping or fighting back. Chapter X is Douglass’s low point where the “dark night of slavery closed” in on him (63) and the psychological brutality of slavery cause him to lose his ambition to become educated and free. The ships that travel past Covey’s farm represent the agency that Douglass sees himself lack. One day however Douglass “resolved to fight” (71) Covey, which he described as a turning point because it “rekindled the few expiring emblems of freedom and revived within me a sense of manhood” (72). Douglass regained his agency by physically fighting his oppressor and wins since Covey does not touch him again.

As discussed, the theme of agency and resistance play a central theme in ‘Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass’ because it is a story of rebellion and his fight for freedom. Steve McQueen’s ‘12 Years A Slave’ (2013) has a different degree of agency because the film focuses on emphasizing the victimization of the characters and dwells strongly on the violence within the narrative in order to evoke and relate to the completely different audience to what ‘Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass’ was aimed at.

One of the main critiques of the film was that there was constant suffering, it was “torture porn”, but this is the aim of the film, “the only conservation it should inspire” is one of discomfort (White). It should leave the viewer exhausted and broken and it does so because the theme of victimization rather than agency and resistance is so prevalent throughout. Throughout the film we see times where Solomon uses his agency when he chooses to beat the overseer, chooses to attempt to run away, chooses to trust a white man with sending a message up North. However, in all these cases he is almost killed or gets punished in some way and despite his choices he is still an observer. Noah Millman argued that all enslaved people were observers because although despite being victims of a crime, each suffering unfairly, they did not was intervene in stopping the crimes because it would put them in danger- the narrative of the story is “fundamentally a relation of his experience – what he saw and felt-in a way that doesn’t implicate him” (Millman).

The theme of victimization is seen most clearly through the character of Patsey as she clearly suffers the most throughout the film. She is the object of Epp’s lust and subsequently the rage of his wife who lashes out at her because she is jealous of her husband’s affection, despite Patsey not wanting it. Northup in his narrative stated “the enslaved victim of lust and hate, Patsey had no comfort of her life” (124). In the film we see Patsey ask Northup to kill her since she has no comfort in life, he refuses to and becomes an observer as Millman argued. After Mrs. Epp beats Patsey for using soak to clean herself, the camera captures a glance between her and Northup. They both knew if he had granted her request, he would have saved her from the beating. In this sense they are both victims, although Patsey suffers more physically but Northup has to deal with his inability to ease her suffering. When he is freed, it is with Patsey in the backdrop of the scene, who collapses and despite the happiness we may feel for Northup we cannot help but feel despair at the whole situation, at the fates of the slaves he leaves behind. Again, the film emphasizes Northup’s incapacity to do anything about those who remain in bondage. Despite being a free man with agency he is still a victim because he has been an observer. McQueen stated that he chooses Ejiofor for the part of Northup because of the intensity of the actors’ eyes, with many shots in the film homing in on this. “Both McQueen and his cinematic protagonist are observers to the horrors of slavery” (Li).

Epps can also be seen as a victim of slavery because “he cannot control his love for what he hates, or his hatred for what he loves” (Millman). The depravity of slavery is the depravity of humanity, since it was damaging to the slaves as well as to the slave owners. Douglass supports his claim that slavery is unnatural by showing how it has corrupted the moral health of slaveowners. We see this in the film in the scene where Patsey is whipped by Northup who if forced to and then by Epp. Epp is completely obsessed with her but can’t express his feelings in a loving manner but instead in the brutal violence that the practice of slavery promotes. The scene is 10-minutes long, “a gruesome beauty” (Tillet) with the sounds of birds, the lash and Patsey’s piercing screams filling an otherwise eerie silence. Kara Walker observed that he “didn’t find [Northup] particularly heroic, in that Frederick Douglass sense” (Walker). Patsey’s role in the film makes Northup’s situation more complicated because it’s not just his freedom or suffering we care about but also Patsey’s. In Northup’s inability to help her is also what makes this a film of victimhood rather than agency and resistance.

McQueen uses Northup’s story because unlike Douglass’s one it is a story of victimhood, one that doesn’t have a happy ending. In this sense the film is not seeking to make peace with the past but to confront it. Audiences watching the film can and will “identify more with a free man who is captured and held against his will” (McQueen) than a person born a slave. Douglass’s narrative is in a way more inspiring because he is actively resisting; whereas Northup’s seems more hopeless despite his immense bravery. The book was unknown to McQueen or many people he knew before his partner uncovered it, and the narrative fit perfectly into the story he was trying to tell. The film won three out of nine Academy Awards at the Oscars, and its success allowed the narrative it was based on Solomon Northup’s ‘Twelve Years A Slave’ (1853) to follow suit. By choosing a relatively unknown slave narrative, McQueen allowed the uncomfortable topic of slavery to be confronted as well as introduce people to a narrative they may have not been aware of.

In conclusion, this essay has attempted to argue that agency and resistance play a dominant role in ‘Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass’ primary through his realization that slaves are being kept ignorant which allows slavery to continue. His story to freedom presents itself with various examples of resistance. On the other hand, the McQueen’s ‘12 Years A Slave’ is a story of victimhood because of the Northup’s position as an observer of slavery and his inability to help others despite what freedom he may achieve.