Reading Images of Violence in 12 Years a Slave

Abstract

Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave revolves around the film specifically its realistic portrayal of violence and trauma of slavery and the images of the tortured slave body. MacQueen by using realistic cinematography, create a pure representation of experience, to bypass instability and get outside interpretation. MacQueen’s12 Years a Slave is a realistic autobiographical movie based on Solomon Northup’s suffering and trauma during the pre-civil war of south. The slave journey pursued by Solomon and the hurdles he comes across and gets over is the main theme of the movie. The plot, setting and the characters of the movie gives viewers the realistic images of existence of slavery in the history of America, racial prejudice, struggle for social and economic equality, illegal immigration. The director has not just presented a story of slave land but with the hierarchy between blacks and white he has made it a combination of literature and dark history of America. The technology of self-skills demonstrated by Solomon during his journey which seems extraordinary to the viewers.

To analyze the question whether the technology of self-stylization and sound of silent shown by Solomon is appropriate or not, researcher has used the development theory of Foucault’s technology of self and the whole thesis is based on researchers own image interpretation of 12 Years a Slave.