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'12 Years A Slave'


Ruthyone

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A very harrowing film about a real life story of Samuel Northup,  a black violinist and a free man, who gets kidnapped and sold into slavery. There is sex, cruelty and a lot of violence - but the story is gripping. Benedict Cumberbatch plays a plantation owner with a very 'interesting' Southern drawl! Here is the trailer..........

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z02Ie8wKKRg

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  • 1 month later...

Oooh, and this just won the 'best film' Oscar! Saw a lot of good clips from it during the award ceremony, really looking forward to it now.

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I'm not even sure how to process this film yet, as I've just got home from the cinema, and the film was filled with accounts of the horrors of slavery. It's hard to classify the movie as 'good' when there's so much sadness and despair, but it was thought-provoking, to say the least. The film doesn't sugercoat anything. There isn't much hope shining through - you'll have to look closely for it. This was clearly a period of time in which people were not ready to take a stand against cruelty and part with their lifestyle; even people who were generally compassionate. Benedict Cumberbatch played such a character. There is much at stake for both parties if the plantation owners as much as show mercy to their slaves. Much effort goes into showing the terrors of slavery, much more so than in any other film or series I've seen on the subject. In that regard, it is probably quite bold. However, I still would like to see a film that goes more in depth with the revolt against slavery. Who were the people that took the first stands against it, and what happened to them? That seems to be the topic for another film, though - and probably it's been made; I just don't know about it. I mean, I've seen some films that touch the subject, but I should probably dig into a history book about this.

 

I would definitely recommend people to watch the film.

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SherlockandJohn, a few years ago this film was released. It's the story of William Wilberforce. a British idealist, who started a movement to rid Britain of slavery. Benedict Cumberbatch is actually in this film as William Pitt.

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I've seen 'Amazing Grace', and I love it to pieces!

 

So, yes - of course there are stories of men and women who rose up against slavery, but this took place in England, away from the actual evils of slavery. I'm guessing there must have been people in the Southern states - white and black - that took a stand as well, and put their lives in grave danger (and lost their lives) to do so. I would like to know more about the white people - even plantation owners - who must have taken a step in that direction... After all, some of them must have realised the wrong in their way of life. There are snippets of that in various movies, though.

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Yes, there were slave owners who began to think slavery was immoral, but of course much of the southern economy and culture was built around it, so it was very difficult to change things from within.  I've read that when southern Quakers decided that merely treating their slaves humanely (as prescribed by the Bible) wasn't good enough, and they should no longer own slaves at all, their only recourse was to sell them, because there was no legal mechanism for freeing them.

 

Also, please bear in mind that slavery was not originally an "American" thing, it was a British thing, introduced into their American and Caribbean colonies almost from the beginning.  It was basically a normal practice for those times.  The fact that it's no longer considered moral says far more about changes in society since then, than it does about the morality of individuals in the 17th Century.

 

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  The same happened to the Scots after the Battle of Culloden.

 

 

A lot of Scots were kicked off their land and had to emigrate to the USA too.

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Yes, there were slave owners who began to think slavery was immoral, but of course much of the southern economy and culture was built around it, so it was very difficult to change things from within.  I've read that when southern Quakers decided that merely treating their slaves humanely (as prescribed by the Bible) wasn't good enough, and they should no longer own slaves at all, their only recourse was to sell them, because there was no legal mechanism for freeing them.

 

Also, please bear in mind that slavery was not originally an "American" thing, it was a British thing, introduced into their American and Caribbean colonies almost from the beginning.  It was basically a normal practice for those times.  The fact that it's no longer considered moral says far more about changes in society since then, than it does about the morality of individuals in the 17th Century.

 

Furthermore, slavery has existed for thousands of years in various parts of the world - I don't know why there's more focus on the slavery in America... Perhaps because there's generally a lot of focus on America?

 

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Perhaps because slavery was (and is) increasingly seen as uncivilized?  By the mid-1800's, the US may have been the largest and most "western" country that was still practicing slavery, so it would have naturally drawn more attention at the time.

 

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  • 1 month later...

Perhaps because slavery was (and is) increasingly seen as uncivilized?  By the mid-1800's, the US may have been the largest and most "western" country that was still practicing slavery, so it would have naturally drawn more attention at the time.

very possibly!

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  • 5 months later...

I'm slowly proceeding to shamelessly watch all benedict films. I have seen this too.

 

I have to say it was good, but I was less than enthusiastic about it.

 

it was really slow, IMO. I don't mind introspective movies, if that serves the plot purpose. I just found it unnecessarily slow at times.

 

good cast though; very dramatic and meaningful story.

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