Religion As Portrayed In The Film 'Twelve Years'

The film Twelve Years an enslaved person taught not only me but a handful of classmates of mine the true behind-the-scenes of what slavery looked like and how fast the life of a free man can change at the snap of a finger through the eyes of Solomon Northup. As I watched the film, I noticed connections between the American Pagent textbook and what I was watching right in front of me. We learn of the hierarchy and complete control that plantation owners had over enslaved people and even those of their skin color. Religion to the enslaved people was their mental escape from the cruel reality each had to live in. Still, it was also something plantation owners forced on them, as Christianity was seen as the key to eliminating evil or negative energy.

We see a scene of Mr. Epps, alongside his wife, holding a mass on their land along with the enslaved people as they put all feelings and sadness aside and reconnect and reconcile with God. The evil part behind the idea of forced religion on enslaved people, however, is the fact that plantation owners would often spread how White men accepted Slavery in the bible and that these were God’s commands and wishes, and being a majority of enslaved people could not read or write they had no natural way to testify to this information. Even if they did, they would not, as punishment for speaking up against your higher official would result in a cruel beating or, as Mr.Epp would say, whipping. At about the sudden death of a worker in the fields, Solomon and two others help bury the man. They sing a Song of God, hoping his soul is in the right place. Religion to the enslaved was peace of mind to them because to think of constantly being moved around surrounding yourself with people whom you have nothing in common with or any way to connect with them besides pain; God was their way to join together and understand where one and other was coming from. The textbook speaks of how Christianity was good for anyone coming over from a place in the jungle and how they became well-clothed and accustomed to western civilization through Christianity. The

Enslaved people had a spiritual and emotional connection with the songs they sang, as it distracted them from the reality being played out in front of them. Throughout the film, we see music become a significant factor in an enslaved person’s everyday life, such as when the man on the plantation dies, as they work in the fields , and any time they can gather altogether, whether that be for a religious occasion or to hold one another close and feel each others pain through their singing. On Mr. Epp’s cotton. Plantation, we see an older woman begin the tune as the rest of the enslaved people hum her tune back to her, and we see they use it as a way to block out the sounds of fellow enslaved members being whipped or even as a tactic to pass the time and the beaming hot sun that shines down upon them. In the textbook, we are told of a darker truth about how Enslavers fantasized and romanticized the happy life of the enslaved who danced and sang, and the white men who owned land saw enslaved people as a source of entertainment, sort of like an instrument that will never get tired or break and can ultimately play and put on a show until they couldn’t any longer. In the film, we see a scene of Mr. Epp enjoying dinner with his wife, Mrs.Epps, and enslaved people being given food and forced to dance as Solomon and others play the violin for them to dance to. Any minor joy music had to the enslaved, Mr.Epps turned it