12 Years A Slave Review
It is February, Black History Month, so I wanted to highlight a movie that is good in what it sets out to do: 12 Years a Slave. This is not a movie for the faint of heart. However, it depicts American history and it should be seen.
This movie is basically an American horror movie based on true events. The main character is Solomon Northup. He is a free man who is kidnapped and forced into the slave trade. The other characters in the movie are the slave owners, Solomon’s family and the other slaves. However, we mainly see the horrors through Solomon’s eyes.
The movie is brutally realistic. The film does not shy away from showing how slaves were treated. We are shown their living conditions, a slave auction and the lives of slaves of the past. We see the brutality of the slave owners towards the movie’s characters.
This movie is dark. We see humans treated in ways they should have never been treated. The reason why I consider this horror is because it is true to history. Throughout the movie, the owners use whatever is at their disposal to manipulate, control and excuse their actions, proving they were some of the worst human beings that ever existed.
The movie showcases some incredible acting, including Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon and Michael Fassbender and Benedict Cumberbatch as the owners.
The story is more than just about Solomon. The movie portrays the idea of losing hope. At first, Solomon holds on to the hope of seeing his family again. Soon, however, as time passes, hope drains away. Solomon was put in the worst place on earth, went through hell and was forced to give up the only hope he had. Unfortunately, this is part of our American history. It is not something that we can forget.
TJ Pittinger is a freshman studying theology.