Historical Accuracy Of The Film '12 Years A Slave'

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The film 12 Years A Slave told the story of once a free black that was kidnapped and sold into slavery. The movie showed that even free blacks were not safe. Solomon Northup was the main character in this movie. He was originally a free black that was very respected in his community until he was kidnapped and sold into slavery. From what I learned in class, this movie was historically accurate while telling the story of Solomon’s life.
Once Solomon was kidnapped, he tried to plea that he was a free man, but he had no proof with him. He was immediately beaten and that was just the beginning. The one that bought him also bought a lady and split of her family. He encountered many problems, as did all of the slaves. He beat up a one of the ones in charge of the slaves, which almost costed him his life. After that he was sold to a cotton farmer and the conditions were worse and he went through years of torture. In the end, he was able to get a letter written to ones back home because of a Canadian abolitionist that agreed to help him. If it was not for him, he most likely would have stayed in slavery for many more years. …show more content…

This movie was not sugarcoated and showed truly how the slaves were treated. Their environment was terrible and their punishments were indescribable. The movie also showed how there was a possibility that free blacks could still be sold into slavery. Slaves were also looked at only as property and had no meaning other than work. The ones that were house slaves did not have it easier than the field slaves because they were more likely to get raped and abused for the wife. In the end, this meaning really showed the life of one that was sold into