Essay Example on 12 Years a Slave and Black Cinema History

Introduction

Focusing on the film 12 Years a Slave (2014), this discussion centres around the representation of black history in cinema, and looks to show evidence of poor representation with examples given of how the full picture is not provided, i.e. with certain viewpoints and events downplayed or belittled in exchange of others being magnified. The issue of changing identity is also explored as a major theme of the film.

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A lot can be learnt about a society by analysing their cultural artefacts (Cobb, 2014). Since its inception during the 1950s, TV and films have both nurtured and reflected cultural norms and social values in the society. Various movies and television programs including 12 Years a Slave (2014) have important messages with regards to cultural and social contexts and political meanings, these perspectives - transmitted through media narratives - significantly influence their viewers

However, there is a reciprocal relationship between television /films and social attitudes. Ball (2015)explores how broadcasters have always demonstrated their powers with the intent of influencing viewers, either intentionally through commentaries of slanted politics or delicately, through portraying controversial relationships such as same-sex marriages, single parenthood or even interracial couplings as socially acceptable. Consequently, the symbiotic nature of television/films and culture is often demonstrated in every broadcast from essential news reports to family sitcoms(Martin & Wall, 2013). Television and movies are known to influence social and cultural changes through this symbiotic relationship; therefore, the directors and producers should consider their corporate social responsibility in promoting a balanced mind-set. This report analyses various theoretical works that help in explaining and understanding how cultural norms and political ideas are transmitted, and how ideological conditioning is brought about through media narratives, using the film 12 Years a Slave as an example.

How Ideological Conditioning is Transmitted through Media Narratives

Ideological conditioning is regarded as a social and ethical set of ideas, doctrines, symbols, principles or even myths of a social movement, class, institution, or large group. "It helps in explaining how the society should work, in addition to offering a specific cultural and political blueprint for a particular social order" (Chen, Martell &Lakh, 2016).

Solomon Northup, an African-American and a free man, is kidnapped and forced into slavery for 12 years under the name 'Platt'. As a result, he is faced with the hardships of working as a slave under several slave owners. The film has many themes; however the main one is the inhumane relationship between black and white women of the 1841 era. The is demonstrated by showing how the sexual abuse of a black slave girl invites the jealousy and hatred of the abuser's white wife. Therefore, by upstaging ideological conditioning with regards to public memory, history, social perceptions and race, the movie 12 Years a Slave is considered by Rael (2015) as a political act. It carries a significant message to the audiences through several narratives. For instance, it shows that not only the Americans but other populations have also become silent when it comes to slavery and the legacies that era entails.

12 Years a Slave could be regarded as the greatest feature film that has ever been made concerning American slavery. This is evident from the fact that it has garnered numerous accolades and awards, including nine Academy Award nominations as well as a Golden Globe for the best motion picture-drama (Tomich, 2016). The film has played a significant role in correcting early TV and film representations, such as using coloured pictures instead of black and white, through its capability to invoke new ways of thinking about both the history and legacy of slavery in America, thus covering a spectrum of sophistication.

Even though this film is largely drawn from the Northup's 1853 narrative, the connection between the film and the text is somehow more complicated and nuanced as compared to the book adaptation of Northup's story which exhibits an ideological condition of a free man from the north who is kidnapped and later turned into a slave (Mueller & Issa, 2016). Though the book was written in 1841, the film adaptation allows an audience with no experience of the social thinking of the time to empathize with the characters and understand the tale. The movie portrayal also influences the way the tale is understood by shading the story with the moralistic overtones of the era in which it was filmed.

It is also important to understand that 12 Years a Slave is not a historical event documentary, thus the viewers should not be expectedto walk away content with their knowledge concerning Solomon Northup's life or even the circumstances in which his story could become known. Chen, Martell and Lach (2016) explained that the film is merely based on a written narrative composed with deliberate political intentions regarding the demolition of slavery. It portrays an era in which the United States as a country was caught in a scientific, theological, moral as well as political gridlock on the issue of slavery. Therefore, this implies that the film is not only translating the text of Northup into the cinema but is also translating the 1853 political message into something that is still resonating with audiences after 160 years. The message portrayed by this film is not entirely about slavery but about the people of the United States. It merely asks the audience to realize that slavery has not been completely eradicated; and that the people's incapability of intervening in the action of eradicating slavery underscores their participation and cooperation of doing away with slavery (Chen, et al, 2016). While the film adaptation may be directed at a wider variety of audiences, just like the book on which it is based, the portrayal is wrapped up in the cultural politics of the time it was made.

The technologies of media narrative have been well utilized in transmitting the technological ideological conditioning, especially as seen in 12 Years a Slave. Besides, the technological ideology has for a long time also transmitted various cultural messages because of its use of cinema and photography utilised for creating the conditions of reality, especially in film and television. This has been achieved by defining various categories with which individuals identify and assign to each other. For instance, Martin and Wall (2013) posit that James Zealy, a daguerreotypist, used media narrative technologies for creating the images of this era throughout the film through stripping these slaves of their clothing in addition to positioning them as a specimen of science.

How Cultural Norms are transmitted through Media Narratives

Media narratives, including TV and films such as 12 Years a Slave, play a significant role in transmitting the cultural norms of the traditional society including cultural information, attitudes and ideas to a diversified and sizeable audience. For example, they influencethe spreading of cultural traits from its point of origin throughout a given region as well as into the neighbouring societies and areas (Wood & Smith, 2015).Solomon Northup's story has a relevant significant cultural message today; particularly to the people of the United States. The film appears to have helped in outlining a cultural trauma theory with regards to slavery in addition to the formation of African-American identity. Furthermore, it is perceived that the "African-American" idea materialized as efforts of black intellectuals' generation in coming to grips with both their collective and individual rejection by the American society after the promise of being wholly integrated after the end of the Civil war (Cobb, 2014). Slavery is therefore being used in 12 Years a Slave as a reference focal point in this process, the film portrays the cultural trauma of that era, implying that trauma is mostly conceptualized on a personal level, such as in the case of Solomon Northup, through psychoanalytical and psychological frameworks (Brown, 2017). For example, Solomon Northup utilized a more cultural idea that assisted him in being familiar with the new collective identities they were given as slaves during the times that he faced a social crisis when he was under slavery for 12 years. As a result, this significantly undermined his established identity.

Contrary to the physical or psychological trauma involving great emotional anguish by an individual, cultural trauma is the dramatic loss of meaning and identity. It is also a tear within a social fabric that affects a group of individuals who have achieved a standard degree of cohesion (Cook, 2016). In this case, not only did Solomon Northup experience cultural trauma but this also applied to others who accepted their new identity as slaves (Northup, 1968).This film is a good example why films are important cultural artefacts. Whoever watches the film understands the cultural trauma faced by slaves during the 1853 era - namely their loss of cultural and self-identity. Additionally, the film 12 Years a Slave has helped in portraying a culture of religion both at its best and worst since it is not only a commentary on race but on religion as well. Besides, the cinematography utilized in this film is breath-taking, with a gripping cycle of hope and despair as well as the portrayal of slaves as being mistreated, which is so unsparingly ruthless that it always forces some in turning away (Mask, 2012).

The film utilizes most of its 133-minute runtime to explore the manner in which the White Christians within the American South utilized both their faith and scripture for perpetuating injustice. After the arrival of Solomon on a sugar cane plantation, his master, William Ford is seen gathering all the slaves together for reading scripture as well as delivering a sermon that he quoted from Luke 17:2. "It was better for him that a millstone was hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea than that he should offend one of these little ones (Diawara, 1993). However, this is an example of stifling hypocrisy since the film viewers have just observed the purchase and separation of a female slave from her children by William Ford.

This film appears to be making crucial parallels concerning how individuals today are picking and choosing the bible verses they live by, in addition to how such verses should be applied in a Christian context. Waldstreicher (2017), posits that this issue is being demonstrated as valid by American history because most Christian clergies championed for slavery since the white people believed that the Bible taught them owning black individuals as work animals was acceptable. Today, Diawara (1993) and Mask (2012) observe that people do still witness the tendency of using scriptures for acquiring power and oppressing people, particularly in countries that have illegalized same-sex relationships by making it punishable by law. 12 Years a Slave therefore, represents both the present - through scene choice, script and character representation - and past Christian history, as a significant reminder of people's tendency to manipulate the scriptures in pursuit of both political and personal objectives.

How Political Ideas are transmitted through Media Narratives

Television and film have significant power for influencing or determining the course of major political events. An important message being transmitted by this film concerning political ideas is the fact that it is representing the Black resistance movement to enslavement. It is because black resistance enslavement stories are often being erased in favor o...