12 Years A Slave - Movie Review Example

Lecturer: Topic: The film 12 years A Slave uses Christianity and various racist pathologies to reveal the extent of slavery among the capitalistic society. Slave masters in the Antebellum South are portrayed as God-fearing as they use the bible to justify the various institutions they belong to. Ruthless slave masters such as Edwin Epps go as far as reading scriptures to the slaves. He quotes the book of Luke as he warns the disobedient servants “shall be beaten with many stripes.” Further, as a bad harvest looms, he blames the slaves as he attributes it to an Old Testament plague.

With this reason, he sends away the slaves for a season until such a time that his crops will find favour in God’s eyes. In the course of slavery, Northup and fellow slaves console themselves in slavery. In moments of despair and pain, they sing spiritual hymns with profound sense of acceptance and surrender. Essentially, the Christian teachings do not support the ways and modes of slavery. According to Walter (4), it proved to be problematic as he tried to compare influence of religion on the attributes of slavery.

His research compared the northern and southern states of antebellum in America.in his book ‘The church and slavery” Albert Barnes claims the general course of the churches has been against slavery and that slave holders were a minority among the Christians. The churches would eventually detach themselves from slavery leading to its abolition. Cruelty in the film is given a grim picture in the event that Northup is made to mete out punishment to Epps’ prized slave girl. He is made to whip Patsey and portrayed as an inverted Christ figure.

When confronted on his actions, Epps says there is no sin and justifies that a man can do what he wishes with his slaves. Epps having bought the slaves refers to them as his property. Epps is the supreme authority in the plantation as the slaves have to obey his commands. Epps is a ruthless slave driver with affection for Patsey despite being married. His inhumanity to the slaves forces them to pick at least 200 pounds of cotton daily. Failure to this would be met with otherwise savage beating.

Distressing jealous brought about anger and rage which is meted upon Patsey through Northup’s extensive whipping. If Northup fails to whip Patsey, he is threatened with the killing of slaves. Race and status in the film cover a larger extent of the society characterization. All through it has been instilled in the mind of the dark skinned that they are the slaves while the whites are the masters. Northup is an exception due to his valuable violin playing skills. With this he is finally taken off the plantation after being enslaved for twelve years.

The other means of getting status in the film is through education. The ability to read and write elevated a black from slavery as compared to millions of others who could not. Raboteau (4) in his book Slave Religion: The invisible institution in the Antebellum south writes that world slave control was centered upon the eradication of all forms of African culture. The culture that made them has unifying power to resist or rebel against slavery. However, African beliefs and customs persisted and were also transmitted to the slave generation from descendant to descendant.

The film also portrays slavery as an institution for the blacks governed by the white capitalists. Slaves were captured from many parts of Africa for over four centuries in the Atlantic slave trade. Lengthy durations of trade followed as various European and American countries exported and imported slaves at different periods from different points of the African coast. As a result, slaves bound for America came from different nations, tribes and language groups. This was a tragedy, difficult to imagine much less understand.

This notion makes me concur with the French philosopher that said that man is good but the institution he creates makes him evil. The neo-church leaders condoned slavery. They disagreed with the abolitionist description of slaveholding as an unqualified sin. Liturgical denominations such as roman catholic and Episcopalian, refused to deny fellowship to slaveholders as the idea that individuals could be held responsible for the sins of other church members was contrary to their established doctrines, Mckivigan and Mitchell (9).

Colonialism and the era surrounding it bring out the notion of man as the architect of slavery. Various other films bring up slavery as a form of lucrative trade against the Africans. Although finally Solomon Nurthup is returned to his family after twelve years, the brutality portrayed in the film is of inhuman nature that would not be wished on anyone in today’s society. Works Cited McKivigan, John and Mitchell Snay. Religion and the Antebellum Debate Over Slavery. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1998.

Print Raboteau, Albert. Slave Religion: The "invisible Institution" in the Antebellum South. New York, N.Y: Oxford University Press, 1978. Print. Walter, Jascha. Slavery and Religion in Antebellum America. Mu?nchen: GRIN Verlag GmbH, 2009.