"12 Years a Slave" Essay

While watching the film 12 Years a Slave, I spent a good deal of time wondering how accurate the film was to the real historical events that took place. Turns out, they were very accurate, and some parts were taken directly from Solomon Northup’s own words. After watching this movie and learning about the history behind it, I came to the conclusion that history can be learned from film if the time and effort is put into making sure the tools used to make the movie engaging do not compromise the accuracy of the story.

Soloman Northup and Epps in "12 Years a Slave"

The movie “12 Years a Slave” is a moving film about Solomon Northup’s story. However, it is also a film about the overall treatment of slaves. The New York Times has a review of the movie that references this idea, writing about how the story becomes more deep and then proceeds to become more compact once on Epp’s plantation. Epp’s plantation is also where the truth about being a slave for hours, decades, and generations is shown, sometimes through scenes of the slaves that are Epp’s property being whipped, one example being Epp’s “brutalized favorite”, Patsey, who is played by Lupita Nyong’o. (NY Times Movie Review) The New York Times considers this film accurate to the history, but so do the people that were a part of the making of it. In an interview for Vanity Fair, Lupita Nyong’o said, “Because it’s not about getting it right, it’s about getting it true.” (Vanity Fair Interview) Nyong’o says that while filming the movie the main focus was the accuracy of the history, not the accuracy of the acting. The director wanted the movie to be more true to the history instead of being a perfect Hollywood production that lost all of the realness to the story.

The movie is based off of Solomon Northup's personal narrative of his time as a slave. Having never read his narrative, I spent the entirety of the movie wondering if some of the scenes were based off of real life situations or if they were added to make the film more interesting to watch. I was very happy to find out that important parts of the film were completely real and accurate. Solomon writes in his narrative that Patsey’s back was covered in nearly a thousand scars from a whip. These were not because she was not working diligently or because she was careless and defiant; they were because she had an amoral master and an envious mistress. She was small in the “lustful eye” of her master, and at risk of death at the hands of her mistress, and she was “accursed” between the bother of them. There were loud arguments in the great house for days at time where she was the reason without having done anything. The mistress was happiest when she was suffering. On more than one occasion, Patsey attempted to bribe Solomon to kill her in secret and bury her body in a secluded area of the swamp when Epps denied his wife’s wishes to sell Patsey. (Solomon Northup’s Narrative) Not only was Patsey’s situation in the film accurate to her real life experience, but it provides insight into how other slaves were treated similarly. Harriet Jacobs, another slave, spoke about how a mistress would mistreat slaves whom their husbands were treating their slaves in a similar way Patsey was treated. Harriet said, “The mistress, who ought to protect the helpless victim, has no other feelings towards her but those of jealously and rage.” (Harriet Jacobs' Narrative) The film provides the viewer with an accurate representation of how Patsey was treated, and also of how other slaves were treated who weren’t parts of Solomon's story.

Time and effort was certainly put into the creation of “12 Year a Slave” to make it a film that was both engaging for the viewer, but also true to history. The scenes in the movie can be fact checked by looking through Solomon Northup’s narrative, and they are portrayed accurately based on his descriptions. Some of the scenes and lines are taken directly verbatim from Solomon’s book. After watching this movie and doing the research on slave narratives, I think that history can most definitely be learned through film. It is certainly easy to alter the story to make it more interesting, but that is not always the case. I believe that as long as the movie is made accurately and stays completely true to the history, then film is a fantastic way for people to learn about past events.

Citations:

http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/maai/enslavement/text6/masterslavesexualabuse.pdf

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/18/movies/12-years-a-slave-holds-nothing-back-in-show-of-suffering.html

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/01/lupita-nyongo-12-years-a-slave-interview

Slave Narratives

I read the list of Slave Narratives regarding slave holder's sexual abuse on slaves. Everything that I learned while reading this is awful. I'm surprised that some of the women were willing to talk about their experiences and speak up, although they did seem to have a harder time discussing the topic than the men did. It's so incredibly sad that these women had to go through the hardships that they did because if they refused they were punished in a worse way or sometimes killed. Not only did they have to deal with the men, but their wives made it worse. One of the excerpts talks about how the mistress would beat or throw objects the woman that her husband was forcing to submit to him. It's an issue that no person should have to deal with, especially not in fear of their life or further punishment. When giving yourself up to these kind of actions is the better option of being beaten or death, it can't be imagined what these women went through unless you are placed in the situation yourself.

A few of the questions I have.
1. Why do the slave owners get married if they have intentions like these?
2. Why do women marry the men knowing that they are more than likely not going to be loyal to them, and then why don't they leave them?
3. Were there any instances where someone stood up for themselves and fought back or where others fought back for them or with them?

Self Assessment

Throughout this first part of the year I think I've learned a lot. I learned how to write good thesis statements for history and how to properly paraphrase and quote authors. I think these are really important skills to have developed before we start working on more research projects. I'm also really into psychology so I loved doing the Choices work. I'm looking forward to the police things that we talked about at the end of class today. I'm interested in learning about it and how police actions affected history and how their past decisions effect how people feel about police today.

Reflection of Paraphrase Practice

Reflection

I learned a lot today. I was nervous paraphrasing would be something I couldn't do very well, but I actually enjoyed doing it and I think I did a fairly good job at it. It's helpful to know when to use a quote and when to just reword what the author was saying because I don't think I fully understood when to use each before. I used to just use a quote to help an argument but now I realize that I can paraphrase the quote and still help the argument which makes an actual quotation more powerful because it adds more meaning. I also know to always cite the author no matter if it is a paraphrase or a quotation. Hyperlinking is also really cool and super easy to do. I feel really good about doing all of this and I think this activity was really helpful.



This What I learned Today

• Only use a direct quote when it adds power and style to my writing.
• Always make it clear, from context, that I understand the full meaning of the quote.
• Whether I quote or paraphrase, I must always be transparent about the source and how I'm using it.
• If I use another author's exact words or phrases, to any extent, I have to use quotation marks and give credit.
• If I use another author's presentation of facts or ideas, but put their ideas in my own words, (paraphrase) I better have a good reason for doing so, and I MUST give credit.
• Hyperlinking is so easy, there is no excuse for not being transparent about my sources.

I understand how to do all of these things and I feel confident that I can do them well.

Practicing Incorporating a Quotation

While reading A.O. Scott's review of the movie Lincoln, he uses a lot of style in his writing. Scott writes, "A flock of first-rate character actors parades by in the heavy woolen plumage of the past." Scott uses this figurative language to introduce a metaphor that relates the characters to birds.


The quote that I chose is from the paragraph that I paraphrased. While trying to paraphrase it I had difficulty rewording it, so I thought it would be a good quote to put in directly instead of trying to put it in my own words.

Paraphrase Practice

Excerpt from A.O. Scott's review of the movie "Lincoln":

After a brutal, kinetic beginning -- a scene of muddy, hand-to-hand combat that evokes the opening of "Saving Private Ryan" -- "Lincoln" settles down into what looks like the familiar pageantry and speechifying of costume drama. A flock of first-rate character actors parades by in the heavy woolen plumage of the past. The smaller, plainer America of the mid-19th century is evoked by the brownish chiaroscuro of Janusz Kaminski's cinematography, by the mud, brick and wood of Rick Carter's production design and by enough important facial hair to make the young bear farmers of 21st-century Brooklyn weep tears of envy.


Paraphrase:

The movie "Lincoln" begins with a scene reminiscent of the beginning of "Saving Private Ryan". The movie opens with a violent, dynamic, and muddy hand-to-hand combat scene. After this dramatic opening, the movie moves to the more familiar look of movies about the past, particularly to do with the costumes and sets. The characters wear the heavy wool coats that people of that standing wore during the time period. Janusz Kaminski uses his skills in cinematography to create a shaded and brown look that makes the movie feel more like mid-19th century America. Production designer Rick Carter also helps to do this with the mud, brick, and wood that he used throughout the movie and also the facial hair that 21st-century bear farmers in Brooklyn would be jealous of.


Revised:

The movie "Lincoln" begins with a scene reminiscent of the beginning of "Saving Private Ryan". The movie opens with a violent, dynamic, and muddy one-on-one combat scene. After this dramatic opening, the movie moves to the more familiar look of movies about the past, particularly to do with the costumes and sets. A group of some of the best theatrical professionals processes by throughout the movie wearing in costumes that look like the clothing of the time period. Janusz Kaminski uses his skills in cinematography to create a shaded and brown look that makes the movie feel more like more simple mid-19th century America. Production designer Rick Carter also helps to do this with the normal building materials of the time period that he used throughout the movie and also the facial hair that modern day Brooklyn hipsters would be jealous of.

Civil War Era Letters

All of the letters in this collection are written to one Jasper N. Betram by his friends in the years 1864 and 1865. A common theme throughout all of the letters is the Civil War that was currently going on, which makes sense since they were all written during that time period. All of them also include some form of personal information, be it an opinion or just discussing the author's personal life. As far the exchange of information, a couple of the letters discuss the current affairs of the time period, such as updates about soldiers that knew Betram and the assassination of President Lincoln. The places the letters came form varied, however, most of them were from places in Tennessee and Kentucky. Is there a particular reason these are where the majority of the letters came from? All but one of the letters was written to Betram by fellow soldiers. The only letter that wasn't was from a woman. It isn't surprising that all the men were in the military because most young men of that time fought in the war. This set of letters offers an insight into the life of a soldier that otherwise may have been forgotten.  Jasper N. Betram isn't a Civil War soldier that most people come across in their lifetime, but through letters that were written to him, he can be remembered in the modern era.

Lucinda J. Tolle writing to Jasper N. Betram on May 6th, 1864 from Glasgow, Kentucky.

Captain Isaac N. Chenoweth writing to Jasper N. Betram on August 24, 1864 from Fort Sterling, Kentucky.

Henry B. Tolle writing to Jasper N. Betram on April 16, 1865 from Taylorville, Indiana.

Henry Sheak writing to Jasper N. Betram on April 10, 1865 from Jonesboro, Tennessee.

J. H. Barbour writing to Jasper N. Betram on August 3, 1864 from Hospital No.3 in Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, Tennessee.