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annikajdr 's review for:
Twelve Years a Slave
by Solomon Northup
Painful to read, but something I’d still recommend. In short it is the tale of a freeman living in pre-Civil War America who was kidnapped and taken to Georgia where he spent 12 years as a slave. I appreciated that Mr. Northup told everything, including parts that could have been unflattering to his own character, because this openness gives his testimony greater credibility, and thus greater power, though his story is powerful no matter how you tell it. The crimes committed against him (and all the other slaves), and the sufferings he endured are bad enough on their own, but I realized that while reading the book it was easy to forget just how long he spent in slavery. I feel like my mind still cannot comprehend it, and it gets even worse when I remember that he was at least rescued eventually. I recommend this thoroughly to all Americans, not simply to get a better understanding of our past, but to understand how slavery was justified and thus how it was allowed to continue. Perhaps understanding this will help us better stop and prevent other injustices. If you haven’t seen it yet, the film is excellent. It is, quite frequently, painful to watch, and director Steve McQueen makes plentiful use of the longshot to linger on some of the horrors on the screen. Compared to the modern filmmaking styles of quick cuts, the long shots are noticeable and uncomfortable, which, I think, is a masterful decision on McQueen’s part. When watching a movie, it is far too easy to dismiss the story being told as simply a story, or merely something from the past, but the lingering shots force the audience to reflect and process what they’re seeing, hopefully letting the atrocities of a true story sink in.