A Short Analysis of 12 Years a Slave, a Film by Steve McQueen

Steve McQueen's 2013 Oscar-winning film 12 Years a Slave, based off the narrative by Samuel Northrup, is a glimpse into the American past. Through the eyes of Samuel Northrup himself, the audience is taken through a dramatic tour of pre-Civil War society and the horrors of slavery, beginning with a kidnapping and ending with a tearful reunion. The movie takes place years before the Civil War, depicting a society in which slavery was embraced by the South while free men lived comfortably in the North. 12 Years a Slave not only showcases the worst of the American past, but the diversity of American perspectives and the parallels between the mid- 19th century and modern-day America.

12 Years a Slave takes place in 1841 and ps over a decade, starting with the kidnapping of Samuel Northrup into slavery. Northrup was born a free man in New York, and lived with his wife and children before he was tricked, drugged, and sold. This movie, again, took place twenty years before the Civil War decades before the North's victory and the Emancipation Proclamation. Keeping slaves was legal and slave rights were few. Usually kept in horrifying conditions and treated with contempt, slaves could subjected to physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, day after day, without any resources or support. With this in mind, there was a dramatic difference between culture in the North and in the South. As shown in the movie, those who lived in New York were more accepting of blacks than in the south, where most blacks were slaves and seen as nothing more. Slavery is of America's most shameful past times, and unfortunately, the conditions depicted in 12 Years a Slave were accurate and followed Northrup's novel closely.

In this manner, 12 Years a Slave was certainly a reasonable representation of history. Though dramatized, the movie very closely follow the novel it was based on, written by Samuel Northrup himself. This movie was not depicting a parallel world or a country four thousand years into the future - slavery was a major part of the American past, and McQueen's movie showed its true colors without dilution. Although it may not be imaginable today, the society captured in the movie is a true, unadulterated version of American history. And yes, slavery is a shameful foundation for America. But 12 Years a Slave does not only display the horrors of slavery - it is also an empowering story of how a man lived through and overcame trying times.

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By using diverse characters in 12 Years a Slave, McQueen was able to combine diverse American perspectives. One of these perspectives is that of Samuel Northrup - born a free man, but illegally forced into slavery, and subjected to the cruelty of the slave owners and Southern society. Northrup had not been born into slavery, nor was he ever a slave before he became a husband and a father. In this way, Northrup's perspective is incredibly unique, as we see the horrors of slavery acted upon someone who has never experienced such hardship before-his eyes are wide open as he takes in every detail of his tribulations. This is not a classic account of someone who has grown up with the hardships of slavery. It is important to remember that this is not the story of a slave, but the story of a free man forced into slavery because of the color of his skin.

The most important perspectives, with regards to Northrup's, are those found in supporting characters. William Ford is depicted as a good man, and even described as such within the novel, but, as one slave points out, "he's still a slaver." Ford saves Northrup when he finds him hanging by his neck on a tree outside, and protects him from Tibeats, but still, he separates Eliza from her children and refuses to listen to Northrup when he explains he is free. Ford is one perspective during the slave era; he recognized his slaves as human beings and went out of his way to be kind, but he ultimately continued to take advantage of them in pursuit of profit. Tibeats is another character whose perspective is worth mentioning; although he is not a slave owner, his attitude towards the slaves is incredibly condescending and arrogant. His dignity and pride was hurt when he was attacked by Northrup, which caused him to lash out so violently against a person who he saw as merely a slave. Tibeats' attitude is depicted as the most extreme case of discrimination, but this attitude is seemingly representative of how the working man felt towards slaves. He owed the slaves nothing personally- he was not a master, despite forcing the slaves to call him so; he was simply a hand on the plantation. And with this relationship, where nothing is lost or gained but there is opportunity to take advantage, Tibeats does just this, revealing another perspective of the slave era during those times.

McQueen's argument of diversity within perspectives may have a political side, although there is no definitive statement to be made in a movie taking place almost two hundred years ago. There are certain parallels between pre-Civil War society and society today that one can draw from the film. Southern conservatives and northern liberals still have roles in present-day society. Religion was both exalted and exploited between men, seen in the characters of William Ford and Edwin Epps, while today, religion still cannot seem to be separated from politics. From people all over the nation, both compassion and complete disregard for the life of another human being can be observed, as was depicted by characters in the movie. But, most importantly, we can see the differences in racial discrimination from America's past to America's present. The Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves, but black people socially still did not have the same rights as white men. It was not until the Civil Rights Movement when black people gained strides in social equality. However, black Americans still face high levels of discrimination in modern-day society. Although McQueen may not be making this an argument within 12 Years a Slave, the parallels between society then and society today are graspable. Perhaps McQueen's film, as both masterpiece and a learning tool, may continue to inspire and teach audiences about what America once was, and what it has become today.

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