12 Years a Slave wins over picky Pinoy TV and film audience

Being an inveterate follower of true stories, the case of Solomon Northup, a free black man kidnapped and made to work in the cotton fields of Louisiana as a slave in 1841, interested us completely. When people in Hollywood heard that Solomon had written his memoirs upon being released from servitude, they decided to adapt the story called 12 Years a Slave.

Unbelievably, the Oscars covering 2014 awards ceremony was carried by the Lifestyle Network in the Philippines. We watched the blow-by-blow account from start to finish; caught 12 Years a Slave win Best Picture, and Lupita Nyong’o grab the Best Supporting Actress award. The entire cast was rejoicing and hugging one another, including Brad Pitt who was also producer and actor.

Shooting began June to August of 2012 in New Orleans, Louisiana with four plantations as locations. Solomon released his memoirs in 1853. Unlike other films produced in the US, the film having historical links could not merely depend on one’s vivid imagination and had to be validated to be accurate.

Solomon (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a skilled black carpenter and fiddler in Saratoga Springs, New York when two men posing to have heard of his reputation offered a two-week gig with high pay to play the guitar. Upon awaking, he finds himself in chains, drugged and shipped to New Orleans to a plantation owned by William Ford. After giving up on his story of mistaken identity, being kidnapped and sold, Solomon decides on another game plan of getting into the good side of his white master William.

He succeeds in this, especially after showing a means of transporting logs they have felled from trees to be sold for a good sum. Master William gifts him with a violin for his efforts. But others in the camp resent Solomon’s successes and beat him up, after which William rescues him in the night telling him he has to be sold to a new master or be killed. Edwin Epps is a weird Bible-quoting individual whose business is selling cotton his slaves pick daily with a minimum of 200 pounds or be beaten. Young Patsey (Lupita) picks over 500 pounds and is naturally resented. She becomes the sexual partner of Edwin, who tells his wife he prefers the slave girl to his wife. Patsey is tired of this role in her life and asks Solomon to kill her and end her suffering, but he refuses. One day, Edwin discovers Patsey missing and on her return whips her after being stripped and tied to a post.

A Canadian carpenter Bass (Brad) arrives at the plantation to help in the construction of a gazebo. After hearing of his opposition to slavery, Solomon tells his story and requests him to bring his letter to his hometown in Saratoga Springs. After initially refusing to take the risk, Bass agrees to mail the letter.

The local sheriff arrives at Edwin’s plantation, together with a shopkeeper from Saratoga. They have come to rescue Solomon. He gives Patsey his sad goodbye hug.

The first time we heard of 12 Years a Slave was when the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Awards) picked the film as Best Film and Best Director for Steve McQueen, Chiwetel for Best Actor and Lupita, Best Supporting Actress. That started the campaign for the Oscars scheduled two weeks after BAFTA.

We held in our hands the book Why Nations Fail our friend Tito Estrada had left in the car. There must be a reason why the book was still staring me in the eye. We leafed through it and it fell open on Page 415. “Technological innovation in agriculture…was reducing the dependence of plantation owners on cheap labor. In 1950, almost all southern cotton was still picked by hand…” By 1960, the days of black cheap labor was ending. Page 416, “The most important impetus for change came from the civil rights movement. It was the empowerment of blacks in the South that led the way…by demanding their rights.”

We went to the Shangri-La Plaza and watched the film. It is gruesome, painful in parts, long and extended in others. But it felt like history in 1841 flashing before us like no other medium could do. We felt the tears streaming from our eyes.

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