McQueen exquisitely showcases how oppression and racism were motives behind the atrocities of slavery while giving his audience a platform to engage and connect with the astounding story being told. One of the most graphic and painful scenes in the movie is when Northup is hung from a tree after a confrontation with Tibeats. Northup is left on the tree for countless hours and his feet barely touch the mud. The amount of physical and psychological torture slaves had to go through is inexpressible. While hung, Northup could see the whole plantation life: the slaves working, the children running around, and the white man nowhere to be found. Slave life was unpredictable. One could be whipped, killed, or sold on any given day.
The United States Congress even passed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 which required the slaves to be returned to their owners even if they were in a free state. Despite slaves massively contributing to the nation’s wealth, America treated them both brutally and inhumanely. This cruel reality of slave life McQueen paints for his audience allows us to understand the sheer brutality they endured on a daily basis. Another powerful scene is when the slaves bury Uncle Abram. During the burial, the slaves start singing “Roll, Jordan, Roll,” but Northup remains silent. Midway through the song, he finally sings along. He realizes that the slaves around him are his community and that he, too, belongs in that community. He now understands that they are powerful together and he feels a sense of belonging. The audience gets a true grasp of the importance of community and belonging. Although physical violence is a prevalent aspect of the movie, McQueen also stresses the interactions between the slaves and the unexplainable connection they have with one another. This makes the movie so beautiful and insightful despite the fact that slavery was and still is a heart-wrenching subject.
McQueen includes some events that are not discussed in Northup’s memoir and dramatizes certain aspects of his life in order to stress the harsh reality slaves were faced with. He begins the movie with a painful sexual encounter between Northup and a female slave. She uses Northup’s hands as a means of sexual pleasure and sobs afterward. This incident is nowhere to be found in Northup’s memoir, but McQueen’s inclusion of this incident truly showcases the brutal reality of slave life: a longing for sweet bliss during enslavement. The extent she went to have a brief moment of pleasure indicates the emotional, physical, and psychological toll slave life on the enslaved. The audience is left speechless. How can one have sex with a complete stranger? McQueen tackles this question with a simple answer: no pleasure in being a slave. The most crucial scene in the movie is probably when Patsey comes to Northup begging him to drown her and free her from all the evils of slavery. However, in Northup’s memoir, it was Mistress Epps who bribes Northup to drown Patsey. Patsey does want to escape slave life, but she does not want to die. McQueen purposefully attributes Mistress Epps’s words to Patsey trying to showcase to the audience the dread of slave life. Although he may not accurately reflect Northup’s memoir, McQueen delivers the same message about the horrific times.
An aspect McQueen also forgets to discuss is the complexity of the slave life. Many slaves practiced religion secretly: “Within the privacy of the southern slave quarters, the Bible told a different table. The slaves had their preachers too, as well as their own secret religious gatherings. Black preachers were often among the few literate slaves, and they created powerful stories of redemption, freedom, and retribution against their white masters” (Stout). Slaves were put to work by their white masters and had no other life outside plantation work. They practiced their religion in safe places and also used it as a means of gathering. They dreamt of freedom and life with their families again. With that common hope in mind, they worked tirelessly together on the field and remained hopeful that one day, change will happen. Since they had no one on their side, most slaves relied on God and each other during times of hardship. They believed God would eventually free them of captivity. Religion became a common practice among slaves as they had no other outlet to digress. McQueen does not address the varying circumstances of slaves. Some slaves made agreements with their masters which allowed them to have autonomy. They did not live in terrible conditions and were not treated as poorly as depicted in the movie. Some, in fact, made it out of plantation life.
Twelve Years a Slave excellently portrays the brutality of the slave system as well as the cruel oppression and treatment forced upon the slaves by their white slave masters. The United States House released a statement about slavery in 2008: “Africans forced into slavery were brutalized, humiliated, dehumanized, and subjected to the indignity of being stripped of their names and heritage.” McQueen’s direction of the film details the abuse slaves endured as well as the physical, emotional, and spiritual scarring of slavery in general. The movie marvelously discusses the evil nature of slavery while portraying the profound power of the human spirit as well as the willpower and longing for hope. While Twelve Years a Slave effortlessly showcases the terrors of slavery and the trauma thus inflicted upon these slaves, it does not dig deep into the motive behind such actions. The historical factors for slavery were focused on the country’s wealth and economic growth: the United States wanted to become the most powerful country. It also does not mention slave life outside of plantation work; although most of their time was spent on the plantation, slave life was complex. This obscurity somewhat distorted history in order to make it more accessible to the audience.