12 Years A Slave and Social Problems

Outline: 12 Years a Slave and Social Problems
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Outline: 12 Years a Slave and Social Problems
12 Years a Slave is a motion film produced in 2013 that retells the story of Solomon Northup, a free black man that was kidnapped and sold as a slave in 1841. Northup was enticed by a job offer by two men who presented themselves as owners of a traveling circus looking for an individual to join their show (McQueen, 2013). Northup was sold as a slave in Washington DC and transported to New Orleans where he was forced to take up a new identity. For twelve years, Northup worked as a slave for three owners and had to contend with hard labor, lynching attempts, and other forms of torture. Eventually, Northup regains his freedom with the help of a Canadian abolitionist, Samuel Bass. Bass helps Northup to send a letter to an old friend from New York who identifies him. 
The movie highlights several social problems. Racism is the overarching theme of the film, with the plot centered on the experience of Northrup and his fellow slaves in the hands of their white slave owners. Throughout the movie, African Americans are treated as second-class citizens. Violence is also another key social problem highlighted in the movie. Throughout the twelve years that Northup served as a slave, he experiences brutality and watches as his fellow slaves are also subjected to brutality. 
I will relate three main topics from the course readings. First, I will relate the movie to the aspect of white privilege as described in the reading by Peggy McIntosh. Throughout the movie, Northup’s opinion is not considered even though the eventual decision has the most significant effect on him. McIntosh (1990) notes that white privilege defines several benefits and advantages that Whites enjoy for being born as Whites. Even though he is a free man, Northup is captured and gi...