The movie "The Twelve Years Snatched" then began to introduce the protagonist's life experience-violinist Solomon (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor) was a free man with a happy family, but was kidnapped and sold by others, and woke up. He became a black slave, and even his name was inexplicably changed to Platt; therefore, Platt was like us, and thus entered this relatively unfamiliar world. "The Twelve Years Snatched" has this kind of subjective observation angle, taking the audience to experience the endless suffering in front of them, but sometimes it puts the audience in a corner, so that we can only stand by and watch Platt and Hei. What happened to the slaves could not be rescued.
In the film, after Platt was abused by a white bully, although another white guy drove away the bully, Platt's neck was still hung from a tree with a rope (just like the "strange fruit" he had seen before— -Like a black man who was hanged). He can only stand up on tiptoes and step on the mud as much as possible to save his life; but the black slaves around come and go, as if turning a blind eye, continue to work and live normally, even the children continue to play (only the black maid walks) Came over and gave Platt some water in a panic, but there was no helper to untie the rope). From day to dusk, this scene forms an irony of life's indifference to life, and also makes the spectators on the sidelines like the black slaves around them, helpless. Destiny cannot be controlled by ourselves. Such a bystander vision that allows us to break away from the subjective angle corresponds to the situation of the black slaves at the time-there is no so-called autonomy.
The use of long shots in the movie "Twelve Years Taken" has strengthened its intention to express "cruel". In addition to the above scene where the protagonist is hanged, the slave girl Patsey (played by Lupita Nyong'o, for which she won the Oscar "Best Supporting Actress" award) was flogged. With a long shot of more than five minutes, we can I feel the pain of Patsey's skin and flesh. The protagonist, Solomon/Platt, was beaten in the cell by the white man asking him to give up his dignity as a "human" when he first lost his freedom, until he was hung, and then forced to take a whip in his hand and draw his own kind—Patsey Blood Four Splashing three "executions" is step by step aggravating the "punishment" of the black slave. The first time he was tortured, if it was more of physical pain, then the part where he helplessly beat Patsey was subjected to more intense mental torture. It was the real pain in her body and also in him. Heart.
In the era in the film, the black slaves in the United States were only used as commodities and as the property of the owners of the manor/plantation. They were deprived of their rights as "people" or their attributes were erased. But "Twelve Years Snatched" through the role of Patsey-this surface is like a cotton picking machine, and when forced to dance to the slave owner, he seems to enjoy it shamelessly, and is even used by the owner as a tool for venting. She didn't resist, but she knew the humiliation and secretly asked Solomon to help her sink to the bottom of the lake. She couldn't help her stink. He wanted to wash away the filth left after being violated by the owner. He ventured out just to get a piece of soap. The role, to let the audience more deeply feel the humanity of the black slaves. On the contrary, many white characters in the story cruelly punish black slaves, which can be described as annihilating humanity. Compared with the black slaves who are not regarded as "human", they are harder to be called "human."
And the protagonist Solomon, who is a free body but has become a black slave, becomes an "intermediate intervener" and reflects the whole story's position that he doesn't want to stand on one side only. There are good people like Mr. Ford, the slave owner (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) or Mr. Bass the carpenter (played by Brad Pitt) among the whites; among the blacks, there are also indifferent people who see the protagonist being hanged, but don't help. The seemingly ruthless slave owner Epps (played by Michael Fassbender) was moved by his own "property" and had struggling thoughts; the white overseer was afraid of the protagonist Platt's intelligence, fearing that he would replace him; Or Epps’s wife who is jealous of black female slaves can be more favored by her husband, causing anxiety... The black group in the film has negative thoughts and emotions, but the white people are no exception. It seems to be a secluded and peaceful mansion. Inside, it's actually a place where you can live without worry and peace of mind.
From this, we have also seen the self-concealment and hypocrisy of the white class. They will even turn their hidden confusion and worries into suppression and revenge on the black slaves: like the slave owner Epps facing what he loved in the past. "Property" Patsey beats fiercely and relentlessly. In addition to trying to be strong in front of his wife, he also changed his heart's emotional struggle with Patsey into another cruel form and externalized it. "Romans 13:9" speaks of "love your neighbor as yourself", and the equality of love realizes the equality of everyone, but the Epps holding the Bible in his hand secretly exchanges the concept and cunningly borrows from Luke 12:47 ( "That servant who knows his master's will but does not get ready or follow his instructions will be beaten with many blows"), as an excuse to enslave others; even Mr. Ford, who seems to have a conscience, is just wearing Saint or the cloak of religious beliefs, he still participated in the purchase of slaves, indirectly dismantling other people's families.
The "Exodus" in the "Bible" tells the story of Moses leading the Hebrews out of ancient Egypt, and the protagonist of this movie, Solomon, has tasted freedom and respect just like Moses. His subsequent decline, like Moses’ forced fleeing, and Moses’ forty years of herding career, has made him a humble, no longer "sharp" person; Solomon, who has been trapped for a long time, has also constantly lost hope for the future. The violin that Mr. Ford gave him, resembling his spiritual support, was also torn apart. The once strong Solomon sang out of control at the old farmer’s funeral, which means that the line of defense in his heart is about to collapse, but he suffered a mental blow again later, not completely desperate, and Mr. Carpenter Bass appeared and rescued. , It is like God's help to Moses. At the end of the film, it suddenly returned to the silent state of the opening. The tree, the wind, and the familiar sound of insects alleviated the pain and allowed us to focus more on Solomon’s look up to the freedom and the distance. Or he is a bit like breaking the fourth wall, staring at you who is still free.
Solomon, the protagonist of the film, did not save the black slaves who were suffering with him at the time like Moses saved the Israelis. He could not even save Patsey, who was severely beaten. This story does not feature a vigorous collective struggle against the slave owners, nor a thrilling escape stage, even though I admit that the ending of the movie is not deep enough, or the happy ending is too routine, but this is more shocking. The insignificant ending and the calm feeling presented in the whole movie better restore the original author, Nafei turned his own experience into the original writing of the heroic Passion. The politically correct "Twelve Years Snatched" is like cotton on the outside. It reveals the absurdity of a whole period of history based on the real experience of an ordinary person, leaving the enslavement behind this plain cotton. It is still heartbreaking, and it also reminds the audience that the freedom they have now is precious.
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