HATE AND PITY IN 12 YEARS
I watched the movie “12
Years a Slave” with my friend Ginny this afternoon. It was brutal, not a moment
of relief from the misery. I’m still trying to overcome the feelings of hate
and pity that came from the movie.
I wonder if it will
polarize the races, for there was a glaring absence of any decent white
Southerners. The white traders and owners were portrayed as men stupid enough
to destroy valuable "property" that had cost them hundreds of dollars
($800 to $1200 in 1850s dollars). And the white women were no less vicious.
Worst of all, the slaves
were presented as powerless victims, as if they had no influence over their
fate. They became pitiful pawns. This approach by director Steve McQueen took
away the little integrity slaves were able to create for themselves. They had
their ways of resisting their owners—subtle and nonconfrontational. They
“accidentally” broke tools; claimed to be too sick to work; “misunderstood”
directions; pretended to be stupid; delayed obeying orders. This would have
been a better movie if we could have seen some of the clever ways in which they
asserted their will. And we could have something to admire. As it is, there’s
nothing to admire about either white Southerners or slaves.
To put the book 12 Years
a Slave in perspective, the former
slave who wrote it did so with the purpose of arousing antislavery sentiment
and gaining the support of abolitionists. It is entirely possible he
exaggerated his misfortunes. To take it for the literal truth without
questioning the writer's motives leads to misguided ideas about our history.
Unfortunately, this movie comes across as abolitionist propaganda. This is not
to say I excuse any of our slave-owning predecessors, but the “truth” of 12
Years a Slave ignores the shades of
gray.
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