The movie 12 Years a Slave depicts the story of a black American living in New York. In detail, the main character, Solomon Northup, who has a higher education background and a happy family, is kidnapped and trafficked to Washington and therefore works as a slave for 12 years since 1841. During his time as a slave, Solomon meets some good people with high moral qualities, such as William Ford and carpenter Bass, who treat him with great courtesy. However, he also encounters bullying and oppression from several white Americans such as Edwin Epps and John Tibeats. In addition, he becomes friends with a black female slave named Patsey who has had the same experience. During these 12 years, Solomon longes to escape from Washington and reunite with his family, and despite he faces the obstacles and despairs during these times, he is successfully rescued and reunited with his family ultimately.
Undoubtedly, this film has a strong postcolonial tone. In detail, postcolonialism can be considered as a critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic consequences of colonialism, Thus, focusing on the effects of human control and exploitation of colonized peoples and their lands. First of all, the movie comprehensively reveals the darkness and ugliness of the slavery society. In this movie, William Ford and Edwin Epps are both typical colonialists who own land and resources that have been plundered by previous generations. Both landowners have their own beliefs and William Ford wants to help Solomon. However, although he succumbs to the reality of the slaveholding society, he still has a shred of conscience. For example, Solomon helps William to build a canal and William gives Solomon a violin as a reward. The two of them get along well and when Solomon is illegally punished by John Tibeats, William saves him. Nonetheless, unlike William, John Tibeats shows strong ethnocentrism by emphasizing that black slaves should live under the rule of a slaveholding society and by stressing that the Bible permits the bullying of slaves. In addition to this, Patsey, as a black woman who confronts intersectionality and the “other” in a patriarchal world, is repeatedly raped by Edwin Epps. Edwin often punished her with a whip, and Solomon tried to stop him, but to no avail. It is thus possible to see the critique of racial inequality and social injustice inherited from colonialism that 12 Years a Slave deals with from multiple characters. The film also explores how these effects are perpetuated in slavery and dissect how slaves, who are stripped of their identities, rights, and freedoms, struggle to retain their culture and humanity. At the same time, while some people in the slave society (such as William) have a conscience, they are overly afraid to fight against the system because of their own personal interests and further contribute to the perpetuation of such racial inequality and social injustice.
Thus, 12 Years a Slave presents the dark life of slavery in the United States through the portrayal of black slaves, presenting the characters that existed in American society at that time in a three-dimensional form. Also, this movie mercilessly criticizes the inhumane black slavery and expresses the black slaves’ yearning for freedom and a happy life. They form the backdrop of Solomon’s struggle and also compose a broad historical picture that brings out the history of Solomon’s personal struggle in an epic style.
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