12 Years A Slave is not a recent film that came out this year. Matter of fact, it’s been out for a while now. The film directed by Steven McQueen, came out in 2013, and won an Academy Award for best picture and best supporting actress. The first time I saw the film was when it came out in theaters. I wasn’t thrilled to go see it only because I wanted to take a break from another film about slavery. I pretty much got a general idea of the film, but I wasn’t too into it only because I was distracted with something else during the movie that night. The second time I watched this film was not too long ago. Preparing for a final project for one of my classes there was a list of films provided for us to choose from. I’m glad that I was able to really focus on this film during my second time watching it.
A very brief summary about the film which is based on a book, a true story about a black man named Solomon who was free, is later kidnapped and sold into slavery. Being that I watched the movie already, I knew what to expect. Usually when I go to see a film about slavery, I usually know what to expect. The cruelty, hatred, beatings, and whippings, I know that is what’s to come. Yet, 12 Years a Slave had a different effect on me. It wasn’t the journey of Solomon’s struggle to get back his freedom and return to his family because I knew what the film was already about. It wasn’t the beatings because like I said before, I expected those things to appear in this film. What touched me the most was Patsy played by Lupita Nyong’o. Near the end of the film when Solomon says goodbye to Patsy and heads home, my eyes were like a waterfall. I found Patsy’s story heartbreaking and hopeless. The mistreatment she experienced from both her slave master and his wife was horrific. I realized the importance of freedom for Patsy and why she would have done anything, literally anything, to become free. There is a scene in the film where she asks Solomon to kill her. She spoke of death as if she was ready to welcome it with open arms. She spoke of it so gently as if it was the kindest thing, and she wanted it, as it was her only way to freedom. She had nothing to lose, no kids and no husband. She just wanted to be free. That scene where we see Patsy for the last time, it was painful to watch. We see Solomon riding back to freedom, and we see Patsy staying on that plantation.
