The Films 12 Years a Slave by Steve McQueen and The Birth of a Nation by Nate Parker Teach Us History

From the Big Books to The Big Screen, What Is Slavery?

Looking back hundreds of years way before my time and trying to understand slavery during that period can be perceived as difficult without having something to look back and reference too. In my case, I'm lucky to have access to different types of films that help me understand slavery, movies like 12 Years a Slave and The Birth of a Nation can teach history because they show who was affected during that time, how they were treated, and how the problem was resolved.

In the past slavery was defined as the treatment of people as property and was legal within all 13 colonies when the American Revolution began. Slavery was legal in all states except for two: Massachusetts and New Hampshire (Slavery and the Founders IX). Slavery begins when someone is captured or sold to someone stripping them of their social identity and then they become a nobody. Once they were captured and sold they are now put into a new environment which begins to change the individual because they must acquire a new social identity (The Social Life of Things 65). Slavery lasted for 400 years and generations upon generations were born into slavery. Between the years of 1525 and 1866 there was about 12.5 million Africans ship to the new world and only about 10.7 million survived. About 388,000 made it to North America (The African American pp 2).

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12 Years a Slave, directed by Steve McQueen, begins with a black free slave named Soloman Northup who was educated and knew how to play the violin with a family who stayed in upstate New York. He was walking in a park where he was stopped and introduced to two men who were interested in giving him work, which would be to go with them to Washington to perform with their circus and would be paid pretty good money. They went out to celebrate for a job well done and drugged Soloman took him up to his room then the next morning when he woke up he realized he had been kidnapped and sold into Slavery down South. He was sold to one master who was treated with kindness and then sold to another master that treated him cruel. Solomon meets an abolitionist who happens to be from Canada and ask him to write a letter to his family and after 12 years of false imprisonment, his life was changed forever.

12 Years a Slave was based on a true story which depicts how free black men were still being captured illegally and forced into slavery. While watching 12 Years a Slave it showed how free men, woman, and children were taken and forced into slavery. Northup family was also affected because their husband and father from that family was just ripped away causing them to grow up with a single father and for the money to have to worry about the household financially.

According to, Edwin Johnson, he writes in his article "Stealing Freedom along the Mason Dixon Line" that the slave catcher known as Thomas McCreary recaptured slaves that ran away from their slave owner, and he also kidnapped free African Americans that appear to look like runaway slaves (Graff and Birkenstein 296). Thomas then sold them into slavery stripping them of their sense of life, freedom, and families. Within the film the slaves were treated like trash. The female slaves were raped anytime one of the slave masters felt it necessary, the wife of the slave owner beat on any female that she felt her husband had a thing for.

A way they punished the slaves within the movie was by chaining them up in a room, whipping them until their backs were permanently scared and burst open. They had little to no food, water and hygiene items. In Richard Wades view, slaves were kept in small windowless rooms, big walls that show the yard and a balcony that shows the back of master's house (Graff and Birkenstein 296). He also states how if slaves are within the plantation they would never escape the fact that they were slaves and wouldn't be free anytime soon. Wade also stated that the mistress of slave owner would ensure that they work from the time they woke up to the time they went to sleep, and that every bit of time was accounted for. (Slavery in the Cities 111-114).

While watching the movie I seen the Solomon Northup seek help from an Canadian activist who he had send a letter out to his family, to let them know that he was still alive and that he had be sold into slavery. After the letter had been sent his family had the sheriff go and pick him up, after working for 12 years as a slave. Soloman Northup himself argues that, he met a carpenter by the name of Master Bass who he become close with (Graff and Birkenstein 295). During this time Northup informed Bass that he wasn't supposed to be on a plantation because he was a free slave.

Bass believed him because he was so educated. Also, within Soloman Northup's book 12 Years a Slave, he states that he waited day after the day to see if someone was coming for him after he drafted a letter for Master Bass to send to his to let them know he was forced into slavery (12 Years a Slave Narrative of Soloman Northup 270-271). Later in Northup's book he moves to explain how Waddill had receive Northup's letter sent by Bass and begin to look for Bass to verify his letter. After Bass was found he verified that Soloman Northup was indeed a slave and went by the name of Platt.

Within the book Northup describes how he was taken into custody awaiting a court date to question his right to freedom. While he was waiting for his decision of the court and a signature from the judge that was received a little after midnight a cart containing the sheriff, Mr. Northup, and driven by the landlord's son were on their way to retrieve Soloman Northup from the plantation. The sheriff asked Soloman Northup questions regarding his identity to ensure he was the correct person and then they put him in the wagon and transported him back to his home town of New York where he was reunited with his family (12 Years a Slave Narrative of Soloman Northup 296-301). Analyzing both the movie to facts printed in books and journals composed on characters from the movie goes to show and verify my claim that movies can indeed teach history. Though everyone doesn't agree with me my mind is set that you can learn from films.

The Birth of a Nation starts sets with Nat Turner as a child being initiated into a religious cult. As Nat was growing up he let the other slaves push him around leaving him going without food so one night his father goes out stealing for him and his family and ends up getting into a fight with the slave catcher and kills one of them. So, he takes his son back home and tells the family that he must leave and tells his son that he is the man of the house now and to take care of his mother and grandmother and that he had god in him. So as Nat grew up he became a preacher thanks to the Master wife who taught him to read the bible. His owner who was struggling financially accepted money for Nat to go around preaching to other slaves that weren't behaving correctly. After watching many horrific scenes between himself and other slaves he decided to form an army to fight back against the slave violence hoping to lead his fellow slaves to freedom, but this just got many of them killed.

Americans today tend to believe that, The Birth of a Nation was originally related to African American's and slavery (Graff and Birkenstein 293). The Birth of a Nation was originally created by David Wark Griffith and was linked to the Ku Klux Klan. According to Melvyn Stokes in her book "D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation" she states "black men began to pursue white women to marry them. To save Southern whites, and especially Southern women, from this dangerous situation, a new organization emerged: the white-sheeted "knights" of the Ku Klux Klan. Using considerable violence, gallant Klansmen eventually managed to subdue the aggressive Southern blacks, and white supremacy was restored." She wants us to know that The Birth of a Nation originally started with the Ku Klux Klan and that the reason behind them was to keep blacks away from white females. Whites found being with an African American to be dangerous, so they decided to keep blacks away by inflicting violence.

The Birth of a Nation when it was first released receive a lot of backlash because of its racism and it questioned it's claim that it signified history. The newly renovated The Birth of a Nation by Nate Parker in 2016 held a different story behind it. While watching The Birth of a Nation the individuals that were affected were the slaves they were treated horrible, provoked by the slave masters, beaten, poorly fed, and put through intense work labor. Anybody who was considered a slave was treated poorly because they were a nobody. They did what someone told them to do for a good portion of their entire lifetime, got little to no medical care, and barely had enough food to eat led along for their families.

Nat Turner and his entire family was affected when his father was out trying to find food and was caught stealing by slave catchers. So Issac Turner, Nat's Turner father did what anybody would do in the sense that he was about to die so he killed a group of slave owners and ran away. He dropped the food of to his family and told them he did something that he shouldn't have and told his son Nat to take care of his family and that god was in him. Nat grew up to become a pastor and preach to his fellow slaves spreading the word of god affecting their life and letting them know that if nobody else cared for them God did.

Within the book "The Confessions of Nat Turner, the Leader of the Late Insurrection in Southampton, Virginia" Nat Turner states "And on the 12th of May, 1828, I heard a loud noise in the heavens, and the Spirit instantly appeared to me and said the Serpent was loosened, and Christ had laid down the yoke he had borne for the sins of men, and that I should take it on and fight against the Serpent, for the time was fast approaching when the first should be last and the last should be first" and what he wants us to know is at that time God came down and talked to him and at that is when he knew he was going to be a preacher for his fellow slaves. (The confessions of Nat Turner 19) Within the movies were treated poorly Nat Turner observe the living condition some slaves lived in on different plantation when him and his slave owner traveled from plantation to plantation preaching to other slaves. In The Birth of a Nation the slaves were raped by slave owners, beat until their faces can't be recognized, beaten with whips until all their backs are split open, and hung from a tree to the point if their feet touch the floor completely they will be suffocating themselves.

In the book Once a Slave: The Slaves' View of Slavery by Stanley Felstein he states" "Maria was a thirteen-year-old house servant. One day, receiving no response to her call, the mistress began searching the house for her. Finally, she opened the parlor door, and there was the child with her master. The master ran out of the room, mounted his horse and rode off to escape, though well he knew that [his wife's] full fury would fall upon the young head of his victim.' The mistress beat the child and locked her up in a smokehouse. For two weeks the girl was constantly whipped. Some of the elderly servants attempted to plead with the mistress on Maria's behalf, and even hinted that 'it was mass'r that was to blame.' The mistress's reply was typical: 'She'll know better in the future. After I've done with her, she'll never do the like again, through ignorance".

Felstein wants us to understand that slaves had it hard, if 13- year-old Maria was to deny the master of what he wanted she would be beaten for not following directions, but since she did it and got caught by the wife of the master she will still be punished for what she done. Being whipped for two weeks wasn't right and it shows how horrible slaves were treated and how they couldn't voice their opinions (Once a Slave: The Slaves' View of Slavery132). After going from plantation to plantation Nat Turner begin to become upset with the way his fellow African American were treated by their slave owners and he decided enough was enough and said it was time to push back. So, him and a few other males from his plantation decided that they weren't going to deal with it anymore and that it was time to stand up for themselves.

So, within the movie they gathered a group of slaves and started on their plantation killing their slave owners and moving on to different plantations causing a war between slaves and slave owners, but the war came to an end when they met slave owners, slave catchers and troops that took most of them out. So, after Nat Turner rethought his decision he decided to turn himself in where he was later hung and killed. In "The Confessions of Nat Turner", Nat states "I knew, was only a tool in the hands of Hark, it was quickly agreed we should commence at home (Mr. J. Travis') on that night, and until we had armed and equipped ourselves, and gathered sufficient force, neither age nor sex was to be spared", saying that anybody could join his army of slaves because they needed all the help they could get. (The confession of Nat Turner 20).

Nat also states, "as we knew we were strong enough to murder the family, if they were awaked by the noise; but reflecting that it might create an alarm in the neighborhood, we determined to enter the house secretly, and murder them whilst sleeping", and this is when everything started and led them on the three-day killing spree. He was later captured and put into jail where he attended court. As stated in the book the judge said to Nat "The time between this and your execution, will necessarily be very short; and your only hope must be in another world.

The judgment of the court is, that you be taken hence to the jail from whence you came, thence to the place of execution, and on Friday next, between the hours of 10 A. M. and 2 P. M. be hung by the neck until you are dead". (The confession of Nat Turner 29) The judge was speaking to Nat and telling him that because he done the cruel act in cold blood he must be sentenced to dead. He was hung for groups of white people amusement, so they could watch him die. He put their people through pain and suffering so they were ready to see him hang, suffer, and die. So therefore, watching the movie The Birth of a Nation and comparing it to books and journals wrote by the actual person who was affected goes to show that we can learn a lot from the right movies and that we should be able to learn history from them.

Writing in her article, contributor from HuffPost named Sheril Antonio states that she learned a lot from watching a film and comparing it to history and that she was excited that it would be used to teach in schools (Graff and Birkenstein 296). Antonio states within her article that "Films can and do teach us a great deal, they can facilitate larger cultural conversations than books, articles and even some college classes and that she learned a great deal from the film and am thrilled others will have the opportunity to engage in both the written form as well as the cinematic portrayal of Solomon Northup's story and that part of our country's history. Basically, Antonio is saying that she was able to pull information from the movie and compare it to the true story of Soloman Northup (Graff and Birkenstein 297).

Antonio also explains how some schools have decided to bring this movie in to history class to help viewer engage with what's going on and give examples of how watching the movie is most realistic then reading about traumatic events that happened during this time. Antonio helps her readers understand the different aspects of slavery and helps us to understand the two different types of people who were enslaved. For example, Northup who was a free man sold into slavery versus Africans that were shipped and bought. She helps readers to understand what Northup felt and went through with him being a free man, and she helps us understand what Africans who weren't free went through and pushes us to have sympathy for both parties and not favor just one that was free.

Not everyone agrees with me that movies can teach history. Although not all critics think alike, Film critic, Kara Brown, will probably dispute my claim that movies can indeed teach history (Graff and Birkenstein 301). Brown in I'm So Damn Tired of Slave Movies claims that "she's tired of white people and how their love of the slave movie genre brings this issue out in the worst way, and that she was tired of watching black people go through some of the worst pain in human history for entertainment, and I'm tired of white audiences falling over themselves to praise a film that has the courage and honesty to tell such a brutal story." Brown is stating how she's tired of slave movies and only seeing black people being beaten down in lines for entertainment towards the viewers and that movies don't tell the whole story. Brown explains to us why she's tired of seeing slave movies. She informs us that she's tired of seeing white people seeing slave movies as a source of entertainment rather than for a horrific time in history.

A period when black people were capture and sold for the use of working for nothing and being controlled by random individuals, who were punished if their owner found them to do something that wasn't to their liking. Brown also elaborates on how she tired of having to watch movies that depict black people enduring physical and mental abuse for hours. She relates black viewer to white viewer and how she didn't want to watch black bodies be beaten until the white meat was showing and how it takes all that graphic violence for white people to "understand".

She concludes her article by tying in Parker overall goal which was to educate the white audience about story that they may have not learned any other way. She states that yes movies can be didactic and illuminating but if we rely on Hollywood as a source of history we have a problem. Brown wants us to know that history of slavery should remain being taught in school, and that nobody shouldn't understand the violence of slavery just because they see. a movie where a group of people are being whipped and beaten on a movie screen.

A supporting source that refutes Brown's claim that movies can't teach history would be Antonio who states within her article that "Films can and do teach us a great deal, they can facilitate larger cultural conversations than books, articles and even some college classes and that she learned a great deal from the film and am thrilled others will have the opportunity to engage in both the written form as well as the cinematic portrayal of Solomon Northup's story and that part of our country's history." Antonio wants readers to know that you can pull history from movies, and that movies that teach history are being used to teach our youth about events that happened before their time.

Overall many people have different definitions of history, some learn better by reading documents and others by watching films. I personally believe that you can learn a lot about history by watching the film. Watching films for history can help you understand what took place, who was affected, and if there was a resolution for the problem. The fact that movies are being moved into schools to help teach history shows a lot. Movie's help viewer understands a certain period that maybe they couldn't understand by reading a book, it brings in a way to connect with the people that faced these traumatic events within this period.

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