12 Years a Slave (Oscar list, 5/9)

Don’t judge a book by its cover #

The phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover” best sums up my experience with 12 Years a Slave. Knowing very little about the true story of Solomon Northup, I was somewhat surprised when a friend of mine mentioned that of the 9-Oscar nominated films, this is the one she was dying to see. I do not necessarily think my lack of interest in the film could be accredited to its merit, but rather to my eagerness to see other films (notably, Captain Phillips, which I have yet to see). At any rate, 12 Years a Slave blew my expectations out of the water. Here is why…

Story.
12 Years a Slave is the true story of Solomon Northup, a free man, who was abducted into slavery in 1841. Captured in Washington D.C., Northup ended up in Louisiana, where he suffered at the hands of many different slave owners before proving his legal status and being freed once again 12 years later.

The Book.
12 Years a Slave the book, was written and published by Solomon the same year of his release—1853. The book sold over 30,000 copies, which at the time made it a best seller. The book from that point on, moved into obscurity. About 100 years later in the 1960’s, 12 Years a Slave was rediscovered by two Louisiana historians independently of each other. With the help of a university student whose family had an original copy of 12 Years a Slave, the two historians collaborated together to once again bring the book to the forefront of social consciousness by republishing a highly edited and annotated version of this now public domain book through the Louisiana State University Press in 1968. The book has since been regarded as a classic. 12 Years a Slave the film, is based on this book.

Historical Significance.
Unfortunately, in recent years there has been a “push” to remove the significance of Remembrance Day. Whether it is the “white poppy” campaign, or retailers staying open, it seems as if the wars of not-that-long-ago are beginning to lose significance as people forget about their impact on our lives. The thought of people forgetting the past and the great sacrifices others made for us is a truly terrifying way.

Perhaps this is why 12 Years a Slave is not only a good film but also an important one. If pop culture can help prevent the deterioration of history, then we should embrace it. The director of 12 Years a Slave—Steve McQueen—has stated that his ambition in creating the film was to ultimately get 12 Years a Slave , the book into schools again. McQueen went on to say in a recent interview that he came to a place when he realized the significance of the story beyond himself.

“[The film] is probably something I wouldn’t have done…but someone told me very early on… Steve this movie is more important than you…And I understood that, and I took that with me.”

I would like to believe that this film was made for the sole purpose of sharing history, but of course, no film is ever made without a dollar sign beside it. At least from the director’s perspective however, the film has been a success by furthering the conversation of past slavery in America.

“A great debate is occurring through something that was lost 150 years, so every Q&A I have done has almost been like a town hall meeting. Passionate, vital, present”.

Summation.

As much as you may want to judge a book by its cover, you really can’t. It isn’t fair (even though some books really do have terrible covers). As if the story is not compelling enough, 12 Years a Slave uses powerful visual imagery and musical score by Hans Zimmer (elements of Inception are everywhere), the culmination of which produce the terrifyingly whole picture of the American slave trade in the 1800’s.

In conclusion, Steve McQueen masterfully crafted a historical film worth watching.

– Director, Steve McQueen

– Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup