12 Years A Slave

Rating: 10/10 (3 December 2013)

12 Years A Slave was an extremely touching and inspirational movie. It definitely had a huge impact about the way I view slavery. This character Solomon was a man who was once free, but unfortunately due to sneaky and evil people he was sold back into slavery. I have never seen a movie based on a man who was a slave turned free man. Throughout the movie you see how he was living the good life with his wife and two kids, then things took a quick turn once he decided to go have dinner with these two men he thought were artists. They get him drunk to lure him into a cave like place. Eventually he gets sold to different people. He has many owners, until finally he met this one man who wrote a letter saying that a free man was being enslaved. Eventually he was able to be freed once again after several years of being a slave. The struggle that this man had to put up with was extremely heartbreaking Him and the rest of the slaves that were there. The way they were treated like property instead of actual human beings. The way they were whipped and had to endure scars from those lashes that would lasted forever. Overall my review on this movie is that it is definitely a must see. An extremely inspirational, tragic, and heartbreaking tale of a man who suffered so much injustice. Currently I am taking a Pan African course in school, and this movie actually reminded me of the first reading we had to read in class. There was a speech made my Henry Highland Garnett The National Negro Convention in which he encourages the slaves to take fight since they out number the owners. There was a line in the movie when Solomon was on the ship and one of the men on there told him they need to get together and retaliate and fight. As soon as he said that it made me think of that speech Garnett said to the slaves. It was very difficult for them to rebel during this particular time, but it was definitely something they tried to do, and most times did not succeed since more people were against them than for them. Oh and I must admit right after the movie I went to go buy the book, that is how good the movie was. I definitely didn't think I would be doing that. That concludes my review..