The Theme of Slavery in Films Essay

Introduction

The theme of slavery has been one of the most significant and sensitive issue since the struggle to end slavery started and the film industry has been one of the main tools of conveying slavery messages. Some messages were geared towards influencing the continuity of slavery while the others influenced its abolition. One of the films that influenced the continuity of slavery is "Gone with the wind" (Fleming). It became quite controversial since it depicted slavery in a positive light. However, several films were made from that time, some lauding the practice and some condemning it. Until now, the issue of slavery is still an issue of concern and discussion among the Americans. The number of slavery films that Hollywood drops can see that. For instance, Lincon and Django Unchained sparked a lot of debate and discussions on the slavery in America. Even after a century and a half after the abolition of slavery, it still remains a sensitive subject in the public. The job of addressing slavery seems to have been outsourced to Hollywood and filmmaking.

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That is because, even the former president Obama faced a lot of reactions and negative publicity when he dared to give a speech about race called, "race speech". The problem with Hollywood however, is that fact that it has grounded the theme of slavery in its production, to the present forms of slavery, other the original past. That plays the role of depiction of the nature of slavery still because they offer a revelation of each era's slavery memories that is also shaped by myths, contemporary identity based on national identity and race and popular folklore. The former style of Hollywood depiction of slavery showed the past of America that was filled with contended, loyal slaves and a continuity trend (Parish 45). Therefore, the difference with most films of the past and those of the present is that the past films depicted the positive side of slavery while the present portrays the negative side of slavery. For example, "Confederate Spy" (1910) and "For Massa's Sake" (1911) depicted the subjects of slavery, faithful uncles, selling themselves back to slavery and literally sacrificing their lives "for massa's sake". Another example is the "Birth of a Nation", which shows slaves dancing, working and singing happily for the masters until they were emancipated. After the emancipation, they got spoilt with freedom and become violent, haughty and oversexed. Thus, the Ku Klux Klan intervened with the unruly nature of the former slaves by taking them to their former positions (Sellin 56). Some of the films that featured the issue of slavery between the years 1930-1967 are discussed below;

Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940)

This biographical film speaks about Abe Lincoln's life story as he departed from Kentucky to the time when he was elected as the US president. Abe then engages in series of debates with Stephen Douglas who was the opposing candidate on a sensitive issue of slavery. Abe stands on and contends on the principle of "a house divided against itself cannot stand". With that, he wins the election. The main significance of the film is to reveal the fact that slavery created segregation and disrupted unity (Filler). Therefore, Abe was able to persuade the people to vote for him because he believed that a house that is not united would fall. He was referring to the slavery act as a divisive factor and thus damaging the unity of the American people.

Boy Slaves (1939)

A runaway boy called Jesse Thompson hopes to earn better to support his mother. Therefore, he follows a gang of boys and they are intercepted in the process. They are made to work in a guarded turpentine camp with forced labor. The only way to get out is to raise a specific amount of money. In the process, one of the boys falls from a tree and is injured in his arm because of hunger. (Aderinto & Paul 97-121.)The rest of the boys decide to strike and their efforts bear no fruit. In the process, they try to write a letter to the president's wife about their deplorable condition at the camp but the letter is intercepted. This film is one of the original ones that depict the real and harrowing conditions of slavery. It is interesting to discover from this film that even children were held as slaves (Baptist).

The Foxes of Harrow

An Irish gambler is now able to buy his way back into society in the pre-Civil war new Orleans, which is something he could not do in his home country. In that case, he was able to find freedom unlike before when he was considered illegitimate. The film offered a great hope to the enslaved that a time would come when they will also be free to return to their former positions of freedom.

The films offers a soft landing to this article by showing the flickering hope from the horizon that a day would come that will confirm Martin Luther King's dreams of freedom. This film acts like a predictor for the future of slavery but offers an interesting revelation about slavery at that period. That is, the victims of slaves were not only restricted to Africans. Since the gambler was Irish, it is possible that even the non-African people were victims of slavery (Hunter 147-149).

"Confederate Spy" (1910)

The Confederate Spy portrays a kind of loyalty that slaves had for their masters. Uncle Daniel is entrusted with the administration estate (Sidney). He faithfully saves his mistress and his master from the Guerrilla insult. This film depicts the practice of slavery as positive and not as negative as it is portrayed. It also demonstrates a harmonious relationship that a slaves has with his/her master. If a deeper thought is given to this film, it shows that the slaves at this point were brainwashed to be loyal and accept the situation that they are in. They understood that they could not exist without the presence of a master and that they could not be a master of their own destiny.

Gone with the Wind (1939)

This is a romance film adopted from the of the same name novel of Margaret Mitchel (Victor). The film tells Scarlett O'Hara's story. Scarlett is a strong-willed daughter of a plantation owner and she pursues Ashley Wilkes. The film received a lot of viewership and support from the time it was released. However, it was later highly criticized for its slavery glorification. This film is an example of the typical nature of the American society and the slavery that went on at the time. Although it has received lots of backlash, the film merely demonstrated the state of affairs back in the days.

For Massa's Sake (1911)

St. Clair leaves his entire estate to his son Harry except for eight blacks, Uncle Joe, his six sons and wife (Joseph). Harry however decides to retain them for some reasons. For these, he gives them freedom. Harry losses $10,000 in gambling and promises to forfeit his estate if he unable to pay for the money before 4 o'clock the following day. Uncle Joe decides to sell himself into slavery to save Harry's estate. Harry later goes west and try a hand in mining gold, which he becomes successful. After earning his fortune from the gold mines, Harry comes back to rescue his faithful servant. The significance of this film is to show the beautiful side to slavery and master-slave relationship. It actually offers a different perspective to slavery while insinuating the existence of good masters and slaves at period of slavery.

500 Years Later (2005)

This is a documentary that covers the beginning of slavery that was followed by colonialism (Owen). It also features Africa's struggle to have basic freedom. This film creates a perspective view of the current state of affairs in so far as slavery is concerned. It features the nature of historical slavery to the present moment to demonstrate the evolution of slavery. The film communicates the fact that slavery still exists in the current society except that it is in a different state. The only difference with the past slavery is that it was taken as trade but today's slavery is imposed subconsciously to the poor and naive.

Ashanti (1979)

In this film, a white doctor's wife is kidnapped by slave traders when they mistook her as a native (Richard). The film shows how the trade of slavery was conducted and how the families of the victims were affected. It shows the condition of modern slavery, especially in Africa. The movie provides the insight that slavery was conducted by kidnapping unsuspecting people. Since women were weaker, they were one of the most targeted. It shows the depravity of freedom that encompassed the practice of slavery. The white doctor was not assisted by the authorities and that shows the negligence of the authorities in fighting the trade.

The Birth of a Nation (2016)

This film tells of Nat Turner, who is a former American slave leading a liberation movement in the year 1831 (Nate). The revolution was for the purpose of freeing African-Americans in Virginia. The result of the revolution was that the whites retaliated leading to a huge backlash. The film shows the nature of the liberation struggles. It also gives insights on the liberation nature that transpired at the time that slavery trade was beginning to lose its footing. It also shows that the white community, who were the biggest beneficiary of the slavery trade were in great opposition to the end of the slavery practice.

12 Years a Slave (2013)

The film is about Solomon Northup who was a victim of kidnap and slavery in the year 1841 (Steve). This films shows the nature of the slave trade at the time when its practice was legal. Solomon had to endure excruciating torture and hard life in the hands of the white masters. Unlike the 1930's films about slavery, this film which featured in the year 2013 shows the harrowing experiences of the slaves. It is noticeable that the present depiction of slavery through films is different from the former in that the present does not use filters to compromise the practice of slavery, like the former.

Works Cited

Aderinto, Saheed, and Paul Osifodunrin. ""500 Children Missing in Lagos": Child Kidnapping and Public Anxiety in Colonial Nigeria." Children and Childhood in Colonial Nigerian Histories. Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2015. 97-121.

Baptist, Edward E. The half has never been told: Slavery and the making of American capitalism. Hachette UK, 2016.

Filler, Louis. The crusade against slavery: 1830-1860. Routledge, 2017.Fleming, Victor, et al. Gone with the Wind. Warner Home Video, 2000.

Gale, Cengage Learning. A Study Guide for Robert E. Sherwood's" Abe Lincoln in Illinois". Gale, Cengage Learning, 2016.

Genovese, Eugene D. The political economy of slavery: Studies in the economy and society of the slave South. Wesleyan University Press, 2014.

Hunter, Antwain K. "Two Captains from Carolina: Moses Grandy, John Newland Maffitt, and the Coming of the Civil War." (2015): 147-149.

Joseph, A.G. For Massa's Sake, 1911.Owen, A.S. 500 Years Later, 2005.

Parish, Peter J. Slavery: history and historians. Routledge, 2018.Nate, P. The Birth of a Nation, 2016.Richard, S. Ashanti, 1979.

Sellin, J. Thorsten. Slavery and the penal system. Vol. 27. Quid Pro Books, 2016.Sidney, O. "Confederate Spy", 1910.

Steve, M. 12 Years a Slave, 2013.Victor, F. Gone with the Wind, 1939.