A Real Look Into Slavery

          In the past year there have been many movies about controversial issues dealing with race that have been released. The Butler, Fruitvale Station and Django are just a few box office hits that have stirred up a lot of uncomfortable but much needed talk about race. One of my favorites of all the movies dealing with racial conflict these past few years had to be 12 Years a Slave. Upon watching 12 Years a Slave I knew it would make me a bit emotional. Being a woman of color, watching movies about slavery always make me feel a little bit sad and uncomfortable. It turned out that the movie was insightful, and although I did tear up at times, it was all for the right reasons.

12 Years a Slave was about an educated, free black man named Solomon who is captured and sold into slavery. He worked on plantations in New Orleans, Louisiana for twelve years before his release. Solomon fighting for his survival was very emotional for me. The whole movie gave real insight to what went on during the times of slavery. Watching this movie, many viewers would find themselves uncomfortable. When I was watching I thought about how many people who watched it participated in color blind racism. Many times white color blind racists are color blind because they don’t want to feel shame for what their ancestors did, and it makes them feel more comfortable just saying that race doesn’t matter. The term property was used heavily throughout this movie, as well as scenes of masters whipping slaves.

Overall this movie was not easy for me to watch but it was insightful. It gave in depth description about one of the main things that this country was built on, which was slavery and blatant racism. It gave a real look at what slavery was like in the south during those times. It was proof that even a free man can be taken and turned into a slave because racism was just that heavy down there. I consider this movie to be award winning and something that everyone, white and non-white should watch. As we learned in class, TV and movies are very powerful when it comes to interpretations of race. This movie gave a brutal but clear view of what most white people in the southern part of the United States were like during that time. It was one of the best movies I’ve seen about slavery, mainly because of its realness about what really happened, no sugarcoating.

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