Table of ContentsSlave DiscriminationBetween Submission and HopeConclusion“12 Years a Slave” is a poignant drama film, directed by Steve McQueen and based on the true events of a man free African-American. The film is an adaptation of a story of the same title published in 1853. The story takes place in 1841 in the United States and tells the tragedy of the kidnapping of the prestigious violinist and freeman Solomon Northup by two men, Hamilton and Brown , and sell him as a slave. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"? Get the original essay Northup's sorrows last for 12 years and finally end when he is released and reunited with his family which already has two new members, his son-in-law and his grandson. As noted at the end of the film, Northup was one of the few kidnapping victims to regain his freedom and bring the slavers to justice. Due to the few rights blacks had at the time, Northup unfortunately lost the case, unable to testify against the whites. Historically, slavery in the United States began by bringing Africans to work in the New World in the 17th century. Today, slavery still plays an important role in what we stand for, such as equality, liberty and justice for all. This article is an analysis of the film "12 Years a Slave", which illustrates the concepts of the institution of slavery in the United States. An institution that, in my opinion, has replaced morality and religion with a brutal social Darwinist concept; survival of the fittest. In the United States, slaves were not only incapable of self-determination, but also had no rights. Additionally, they were treated brutally, dehumanized, and subjected to degradation by white domination. “My goal is to present a frank and truthful statement of the facts: to repeat the story of my life, without exaggeration. » The opening scene of "12 Years a Slave" features a group of slaves being ordered to cut sugar cones. Perhaps this beginning is a preview of what audiences will later learn about the conditions and moods of slaves on plantations. The look of pain and suffering, the sadness in the eyes are very evident to us from the beginning of the film. Solomon Northup's life changes dramatically in the blink of an eye. The free man who lived happily with his family turns into a slave subjected to various humiliations and tortures. The man who goes to Washington DC as a violinist wakes up in a cell chained to the floor, trying in vain to proclaim that he is a free man. He suffers the indignity of being stripped of his identity. Now he is a Georgian track slave. He tries to protest but it's no use. He is beaten with a wooden paddle and then a leather strap mercilessly, then sent to a slave pen with others. The next day, Northup was shipped to New Orleans with other Africans. On the way, he has a conversation with two men, Robert and Clemens. They tell him that if he wants to survive, he must hide his identity and not tell anyone that he is a free, educated man and that he must adapt to being a slave. “I don’t want to survive, I want to live,” Northup responds. He probably didn't know what awaited him.Eliza, a slave and a mother who loses her children and her freedom papers, is raped by the slave trader. Robert, who tries to intervene, is killed by the merchant, which makes Northup understand that resistance is not a solution. In a very touching scene, Robert's body is thrown into the sea, while Eliza and Northup stand idly by with the other slaves in the face of such tragedy. Back to Northup, which now receives thenew name, Platt, and is sold with Eliza to Mr. Ford. Perhaps he is now starting to give up and realizes that “speech is silver but silence is gold”. The scars on his back remind him that there is no point in talking, as he tells Eliza. On Mr. Ford's plantation, Northup follows orders, but he remains a man of dignity. He demonstrates clever techniques on the plantation which impress Mr. Ford. John Tibeats, a man in power on the plantation, tries to beat Northup out of jealousy and tension between them begins but the magic turns against the magician. Northup resists and beats John with his own whip. Quickly and inhumanely, John and other thugs put the rope around Northup's neck. He hangs from the tree, barely able to stand on tiptoe for hours until Mr. Ford finally saves him. He pays an arm and a leg for hitting a white man. Mr. Ford saves his life, but on the other hand, he carelessly sells it when he goes through a financial crisis. “Among the first objects of the planters' assault were the names that Africans bore in the New World, and with them the lineage that structured much of African life. » The inhumane treatment of slaves is evident throughout the film in different scenes. The slaveholders justified their treatment with biblical texts, such as Mr. Ford, who gathers his ointments and quotes Luke 17:2: "It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and thrown the sea, rather than throwing him into the sea. that he should offend one of these little ones. »Due to Ford's financial crisis, Northup is now one of the properties of Mr. Epps, who is known for his ruthless behavior and whose heart is full of hatred. Even he justifies his actions by religion and quotes Luke 12:47 to his slaves on their first day on his plantation: "And this servant, who knew the will of his master, and did not prepare himself and did not act according to his will, will be beaten. with many scratches. It's scripture. »Mr. Epps takes these words literally and whips his slaves, who do not do well on the plantation and harvest only the smallest amount of cotton. On the contrary and to show his racism, when a white farmer picks the smallest amount of cotton, Mr. Epps tells him that he should not worry about it and that he can still improve. The women in “12 Years a Slave” are subjected to particular suffering; a slavery full of sexual, psychological and physical suffering. Mothers are separated from their children, as in the case of Eliza, who is separated from her children, despite the kindness of Master William Ford (scene 31:00). It was not the family or the human individual that mattered, but only the economic profit of the slave traders. This commercialization was the frustration of African family life. This phenomenon is not only a scene from "12 Years a Slave," but it was acknowledged in the House of Representatives' 2008 apology: "As enslaved families were torn apart after being sold separately from one another, others. » The oppressive Mr. Epps enjoys committing sadistic acts on his slaves. Perhaps the circumstances on his plantation make Northup doubt that he will ever have the chance to feel free again. One of the most influential characters in "12 Years a Slave" is Patsey, the beautiful, cheerful creature, a very hard and industrious worker who collects the largest amount of cotton on the plantation. Patsey is raped by her master and hated by his wife. She is deprived of the simplest rights and she is painfully broken. Even though Patsey seems like a very calm and patient girl at first, she is the one who performs the most effective scenesemotionally of the film. The audience will naturally shed tears when she begs Solomon in a trembling voice to kill himself and end her pain out of mercy, because she is not strong enough to do it herself. She is the most tragic character in the story and is a reflection of the bitter life of slaves who prefer death and going to the "merciful god", as she puts it, rather than the life of a slave. Northup asks her how she can fall into such despair. He also asked out Eliza before, but later in the film the audience realizes that he himself has started to give up. Between submission and hope Full of hope, Northup takes advantage of the white farmer, Armbsy, who has just joined them on the plantation and who is there out of need for money. Northup decides to risk trusting him, because he seems like an honest man. He offers her all his savings to give her a letter to her friends in New York. Armbsy accepts it without hesitation: “To help you, I put myself in danger. » But he immediately delivers it to Mr. Epps who confronts Northup with a threatening look. All hope seems lost. Hope is reduced to dust as he burns the letter. The days pass and the tragedy continues. Heartbreak, melancholy and death from exhaustion are part of every working day. When an old man dies while picking cotton, the other slaves no longer show sadness. The supervisor mercilessly shouts: “Negro, get up” and then realizes that he is dead. The slaves dig to bury him, blow a gasket and sing the spiritual song "roll Jordan roll", while we see the anger in Northup's eyes, who sings louder and louder, feeling the pain and the 'injustice. When he joins the song in the middle, it becomes clear to the audience that he is also joining the helpless community that finds hope and assurance in the songs. A community that still dreams of freedom. Not freedom in Jordan where they are not enslaved, but in an afterlife when they die and their sorrows end. And one can't help but sympathize with them as they repeat the strong words: "roll Jordan roll, roll Jordan roll, lift my soul to heaven, Lord, to hear when Jordan rolls." Another moment where Northup begins to submit is when injustice is done to Patsey at the end of the film. Mr. Epps is as angry as a bee sitting on its own sting. Patsey is missing and he threatens all the slaves with force and violence for her loss. But Patsey quickly returns to justify that it is the day of worship and that she has gone to the neighboring plantation to get soap to clean herself, while Mrs. Epps has deprived her of her most basic rights. Not believing her and provoked by his wife, Mr. Epps forces Northup to complete the most difficult mission. He orders him to hit Patsey. Mr. Epps, at his wife's instigation, tells Northup to hit harder and harder, or he would be next. Patsey screams and struggles in vain when Mr. Epps takes over torturing her until her "meet and blood" also flows. This is Northup's greatest moment of black mood and utter despair, which is evident when he breaks his violin after this horrible injustice. Finding himself alone and desperate, Northup meets Samuel Bass, a Canadian carpenter who works for Mr. Epps for a time. . It was when life on the plantations seemed to be at its lowest ebb that a glimmer of hope emerged. Bass was a loyal man and an outspoken abolitionist who did not approve of slave ownership. “Everything is bad, everything is bad, sir. There is no justice or righteousness in it…this slavery question” and “How many slaves are there on this bayou as white as we are?” he said to Mr..