Introduction
The film industry has always been used to highlight the ideas that affect the society in real life. Most themes in the movies such as slavery, racism, war, and love are components of our daily lives. The films, therefore, act as reflections on what we experience in our daily lives. The society is therefore prompted to react in a certain way towards the motives of the film to adjust itself to the expectations of the film. Various films have indeed turned around history and changed the way people carried out their lives. For instance, the film “a girl in the river” changed the perception of many middle easterners concerning marriage. Specifically for this preview, we shall consider the film “12 Years a Slave” and how it has changed the world’s perception on the slave trade. Since its production, there has been a crusade that has advocated for equality of all people regardless of their religion, race or gender. The film has, therefore, helped transform the world into a better place by revealing the evils associated with slavery. In this film, the main themes that come out are slavery and its effects, sexual abuse, equality, religion, and love. The main objective of this paper is to highlight the various elements that are highlighted in the film and how they are important to the human society. The elements include race, class, gender, and equality in the film (McQueen). This evaluation uses the film 12 years a slave to discuss the above elements.
Film synopsis
“12 years a slave” is an award-winning, true story film that brought together various Oscar award winners such as Lupita Nyong’o, Brad Pitt, Chiwetell Ejioffor among many others. The film mainly highlights the sufferings that African American slaves went through during the slavery periods in the 18th and 19th centuries. The film is about a young black man, Solomon Northup, (Chiwetell Ejioffor), who lived as a free man in New York City at a time when slavery was rampant in the south (McQueen). Solomon earned his living for playing violin, and it was during one of his tours outside the city that he was caught and sold into slavery in the miserable south.
Throughout his slavery period, he tried various mechanisms of trying to get him out of the slavery to no avail. He, therefore, had to survive the entire 12 years that he had been sold for as a slave before regaining his freedom. The film was produced in the year 2013 and was directed by Steve McQueen. It was filmed at a time when blacks in the United States are still subjected to cases of discrimination. The setting of the film is in the year 1841, a century where most Africans in the United States were subjected to inhumane conditions under slavery. Most of the slaves had been brought from Africa, and Latin America and they were subjected to hard labor in the tobacco and sugarcane plantations of their white masters. The film has several themes with most notable ones being slavery, love, religion, sexual abuse and self-identity.
Evaluation of the film
Various technical elements were considered when evaluating the film. These elements included the props, music, lighting, costumes, makeup and stage set and scenery. For clarity, this paper discussed 3 of the above mentioned technical elements and their sociocultural meaning to the entire paper. The three elements are music, makeup and stage set and the scenery.
Makeup
Makeup was a crucial element for the entire production of the film. A great distinction had to be created that highlighted the differences between the white masters and their black slaves. Therefore, several effects had to be out in place. Most notable is the skin color. Despite the actual appearance of most of the actors being light, the film producers saw it necessary to add a darker tint to clearly bring out the fact that they were slaves (McQueen). Due to the hard work that most slaves were subjected to couple with the dire conditions that they lived in, it was obviously expected that their skin complexion would be darker. Thus, the color of the blacks tends to be associated mostly with slavery in the society. In various scenes of the film, ladies have been given a different complexion compared to men. This is because most of them are subject to more brutal treatment from their masters and the wounds they sustain tend to heal for a longer period. Therefore, the makeup on them slightly differs from that of men. For Lupita Nyong’o who played the role of Patsey, additional makeup had to be applied to bring the illustration of flesh tearing from her body following the whippings she received from her white master.
Makeup, therefore, had a sociocultural effect on the film. The dark complexion of the black slaves symbolized slavery and the hardship they went through under their white masters. It also highlighted how the entire society viewed the black people during that error in the history of the United States.
Stage Set
The film 12 years a slave was acted from Louisiana. The main reason for choosing the location is that it was the actual location for Northup’s actual slavery period. Another important reason is that it had beautiful scenery which the producers of the film wanted to maximize on. The landscape of Louisiana offered ample space for the depiction of the plantations that the slaves worked on. Most of the crops that the slaves toiled for were mainly sugarcane and tobacco. They required large tracts of lands and yet a pleasing scenery. Louisiana, therefore, offered the best spot for the filming to take place.
Another important aspect of a stage set that was captured in the film was the housing conditions of the white masters compared to those of the slaves. The slave owners lived in clean houses that were well furnished and properly lit. They lived in conditions that are more than average above the standard recommendation. In contrast, the slaves were depicted to be living in poorly constructed shelters that did not seem to be conducive to human settlement (McQueen). The houses were poorly lit, cemented floors and little or no furnishing. This meant that the slaves were supposed to sit and sleep on the floors while their masters were comfortably sleeping in houses that were properly lit and warmed.
The element of stage set succeeded in bringing out the difference in the status quo between the white masters and the slaves. It is visible that the slave owners were entitled to better living conditions while the slaves were subjected to conditions that were equivalent to those of livestock. Some of the slave sellers, for instance, were quoted saying to the buyers that “He will probably grow into a fine beast.” The slave seller was saying these words when selling a young kid to one of the slave owners in the area.
Music
Music has been used widely in the film industry to bring out certain aspects that have not been incorporated into the scenes of the film “12 years a slave” is no exception. There are many instances that point to this statement in the film. To begin with, we see how Northampton’s life as a free man is. He is depicted as a well-off man living in a finely furnished house. The source for his success is most presumably the violin which he used to play for a living. We can, therefore, conclude that he was an established violin player.
Several other songs have been incorporated into the entire film. Most of the songs can be traced back to the slave trade, and they indeed seem to be appropriate for the film since they symbolize the problems that the slaves went through (McQueen). There are also various instances in the film when the slaves break into a religious song occasionally. The songs mainly serve in bringing out the undying hope that the slaves have in their maker, believing that they shall one day be free. The songs also had a sadistic tone that reflected on their sad state of life as slaves.
Therefore all the technical elements mentioned above serve the main purpose of adding taste to the film. The combination of both the visual and the audio aspect of the film help in bringing out the true picture of what composed the cultural activities of those days. Some of the elements helped us understand the sociocultural components of the society such as equality, racism, and sexuality. For instance, the slaves were not treated as equals by their masters (McQueen). Northampton’s master, for instance, was quoted saying that there was no sin in treating the slaves brutally since they were his property and one would do as he wished with his property.
Conclusion
In summary, this analysis has mainly majored on the technical elements of the film “12 years a slave”. These elements (makeup, music and stage set) have played an important role in ensuring that the main motives of the film were accomplished. The film was mainly aimed at creating awareness about slavery and its profound effects on humanity. Some of the technical elements have therefore helped the society avoid prejudice when interacting with people from various races. As stated earlier, studying this topic is critical in creating a worldwide awareness about the various issues affecting humanity. As seen from the examples the society has been appropriately changed their way of thinking and action to ensure that they avoid the themes and the effects associated with slavery.
Works Cited
McQueen, S. “12 Years a Slave (2013).” IMDb, 18 Oct. 2013, www.imdb.com/title/tt2024544/. Accessed 5 Dec. 2017.