Have you ever watched the movie 12 Years a Slave? This is an amazing film based on an incredible true story of one man's fight for survival and freedom. In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free black man from upstate New York, was abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty (personified by a malevolent slave owner, portrayed by Michael Fassbender), as well as unexpected kindnesses, Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the 12th year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon's chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist (Brad Pitt) will forever alter his life.
This movie is one of the symbol's of abolitionist art like a classic Uncle Tom's Cabin. But in my opinion, McQueen's film is particularly original.
Why this film is special for me? Because I was born and grew up in Russia, where I went to school, studied Russian and world history. The origins of serfdom in Russia are traced to Kievan Rus' in the 11th century. Legal documents of the time, such as Russkaya Pravda, distinguished several degrees of feudal dependency of peasants, the term for an un-free peasant in the Russian Empire is serf.
Serfdom war became the dominant form of relation between peasants and nobility in the 17th century. Serfdom only existed in central and southern parts of the Russian Empire. It was never established in the North, in the Urals, and in Siberia. Russian Tsar Alexander I wanted to reform the system but was stymied. New laws allowed all classes (except the serfs) to own land, the privilege that was previously confined to the nobility. Finally, serfdom was abolished by a decree issued by Tsar Alexander II in 1861.
In Russia many types of art represent the theme of serfdom. There are pictures, literature, theater and documentary movies. I would like to tell you briefly about a literary work on the theme of slavery, which struck me in my childhood. It is a book called Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow (1789), by writer Alexander Radishchev.
In this book the author fearlessly denounced the horrors of his time: despotism, corruption, poverty and lack of rights of the people. This free-thinking writer was sentenced to death, which was replaced by a 10-year exile in Siberia, by royal pardon.
The fate of this book in Russian was truly amazing. Unreliable in terms of censorship work the author printed at home on his own printing press, but before the arrest burned almost the entire edition. Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow remained in manuscript form until 1858, when it was published in the Free Russian Printing House (London) by Radishchev's friend - Alexander Gertsen. In Russia, the book was censored only at the beginning of the XX century. Even during the Soviet era, when Radischev was declared "a prophet and forerunner of the revolution", "Journey..." was published with cuts — because the sharp truth exposed embarrassment to the official government.
Only in the late 20th and early 21st century, the book has reached readers in the full version, and made me think a lot about the terrible and brutal terror of enslaving people. It is impossible to forget this horrible period of history on several dozen generations of Russian people who grew up in humiliation and agony caused by the same people as they are.
In America, slavery was banned in 1865 - four years after the abolition of serfdom in Russia.
For America the theme of slavery is one of the most popular and beloved in art too. I think the theme of oppression of blacks in America is like the discussions about the World War II in Germany.
The historical film 12 Years a Slave, directed by Steve McQueen is at first view, a typical story of a free man, artfully deceived, who fell victim to circumstances and was sold into slavery. This is, of course, a system that broke thousands of others like him: he does not forget his real name, he remembers about his family, and most importantly, does not lose hope. But through the fate of the one man McQueen shows us a whole era.
In the hearts of the audience wakes sympathy, because the action is devoid of stereotypes and growing tension within two hours of film. I was struck by the actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, because he appeared to be a man who wants to live, not only survive.
The film does not imply any solutions, except one: slavery is a horror and a shame.
This movie won the Oscar for the best film in 2014. I believe it certainly deserved the award, because this movie makes people look again at the issue of racism and the alleged superiority of some people over others very consciously and carefully.
As you can see, the United States and Russia have similar pages in history. And those are not things to be proud of! But the most important thing at this point - is that these are lessons which the people learned from historical experience. And beyond all doubt we can never return to slavery, not even in thought.
