Based upon an autobiography created in 1853 by Solomon Northup, the movie tells of a free black man living in upstate New York who is kidnapped and sold into slavery. After he is enslaved, he spends the next twelve years of his life in Louisiana working within the plantations. This historical drama film was intended to not only tell a real account of a slave, but was to show audiences how it would of felt to be living in the "Slave era" of America; especially as one of the black citizens.
After seeing the finally seeing the movie about two moths after it had released, I thought overall the feeling of the movie was quite powerful. Although I wouldn't recommend it to most for the fact of it being rated R, I would say it's a great film for those who are interested in seeing this young, free black man's story. I feel as though the movie could also help educate people of how serious slavery actually is.
The themes in both the narrative of Solomon Northup and the movie created on his behalf caught my interest mostly due to what we had been learning in history class lately. We just finished a entire unit on the Transatlantic Slave Trade, as well as a PSA informing the world about the very real topic of Modern Day Slavery. I instantly saw the connection between how badly Solomon Northup was treated and how bad slaves even today are treated. Slavery, although it was supposedly "stopped" many years ago, I feel is a very impacting problem that needs to be solved.
Bibliography:
Onion, Rebecca. "Beyond "12 Years a Slave": The Signatures of Hundreds Who Sued For Freedom." Slate Magazine. Slate Magazine, 17 Oct. 2013. Web. 9 Dec. 2013. <http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_vault/201
"Solomon Northup. Twelve Years a Slave: Narrative ofSolomon Northup, a Citizen of New-York, Kidnapped in Washington City in1841, and Rescued in 1853.." Solomon Northup. Twelve Years a Slave: Narrative ofSolomon Northup, a Citizen of New-York, Kidnapped in Washington City in1841, and Rescued in 1853.. Christopher Gwyn , n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2013. <http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/northup/north
Pictography:
I really enjoyed your response to the movie. The title to your response caught the readers attention nicely. I liked how your response was short and to the point. I also liked that you were honest in whether or not you would recommend the movie to other people. You also did very well in connecting it back to what we learned in class about slavery. Overall, you did a really good job!
ReplyDeleteI liked the title and I was actually considering using this movie for my post as well, i liked that your response was short enough that I actually felt compelled to read the whole thing, but you put in all the information needed to explain the movie.
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