Craig Priddle
12 Years a Slave (2013)
The whole point of Only the Good News is to promote the positive, to stand gently against the swell of negativity and often meaningless information the mainstream media throw out as news every day. A superb idea, I’m sure you agree. So those of you who have already seen the movie 12 Years a Slave might be wondering what the hell it is doing on this website.
12 Years a Slave is hard going. It is based on the book of the same name written by Solomon Northup in 1853. Northup is a free man, a Black American living in New York, kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841. It is graphic in its depiction of the horrors he experienced and witnessed. It was filmed in the same area the actual events took place. Knowing it is based on a true story makes it harder to take, and knowing that there are still an estimated 30 million slaves in the world today makes it harder still.
It isn’t what you might call good news.
The film is draining emotionally, with moments of hope usually quickly snatched away. Northup is a musician and while it is, at times, no source of pleasure for him, there are some moments where music is pivotal. There is a scene in the film where a version of the spiritual Roll Jordan Roll is sung. As it is being sung over the grave of a slave who falls over dead in the cotton fields, Northup slowly joins in and sings strongly with those gathered.
Roll Jordan Roll was introduced as part of attempts to bring Christianity to slaves and make them docile and easy to control. It became a coded message for escape, and so an obvious choice for a song sung over a fresh grave. It is an interesting scene, where one could assume Northup’s acceptance is that of his lot in slavery, but the deeper message of the song and his enthusiastic participation in the singing is in fact a restating and a reinforcing of his desire to not just survive, but to live.
It takes some time to recover from seeing this film. The credits begin and moving is difficult, you need to absorb the magnitude of what you have seen. Once the immediate effect of 12 Years a Slave has allowed you to resume movement, conversation, and contemporary life, you may notice a few things.
I walked to a shop and bought chocolate. I thought about my next day of work. I looked at the rain clouds filling the sky on my day off. I watched some birds feeding in a tree. I thought of the minor irritations that day had brought me. Those thoughts and actions were all a little different than they would have been before watching this film.
All these thoughts and actions, and many others both then and now, some time later, have been affected by the experience of watching 12 Years a Slave. The good things may seem a little better, the bad things quite a good deal better. The possibility of choice, the touch of a loved one, the opportunity to do as we please are all valued that much more. The idea of what constitutes a bad day is put into perspective.
As you watch the credits, perhaps sighing back into recognition that your world is out there waiting for you still, despite the film finishing, the spiritual Roll Jordan Roll plays again. It is a reminder of that moment in the film; the renewed commitment to live. As Roll Jordan Roll plays in the credits, you, like Northup, may find yourself reinvigorated with a positive desire to live, and appreciate your freedom and the choices you have.
Slavery still exists. We who have our freedom can choose to act and take actions, even small ones that can help change the situation for those in bondage. Anti Slavery Australia has a multitude of resources including links and courses, fund raising nights and suggestions for what we can do to help make a difference. It has a link for donations to help support the elimination of slavery around the world.
12 Years a Slave is full of brutality and injustice. While beautifully crafted and acted, it is ugly and nasty, with moments that may make you turn away. Because of all this, however, it could make you appreciate how lucky you are and why we should make a difference to those who are not so lucky.
8/10
Roll Jordan Roll – en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roll,_Jordan,_Roll
Anti Slavery Australia – www.antislavery.org.au/
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