MovieChat Forums > 12 Years a Slave (2013) Discussion > I'd like to see a film about slavery tha...

I'd like to see a film about slavery that tells the truth

posted 8 years ago by Jazzie123
7 replies | jump to latest

Because the truth has almost nothing to do with the story Hollywood keeps trying to sell, and not just Hollywood.

People, the African slave market is a market that has been functioning for centuries now, and is still selling people TODAY. Right now, I mean, as you are reading this. They mainly sell and have mainly sold to the Arab world, and people in this form of business have, apparently, no qualms about selling people into slavery.

Now the 'white man', who is so often portrayed as the most evil force on earth, is seen as the big instigator of black slavery. This is wholly, completely and absolutely untrue. We tapped into a market that had been going for ages and is still going today. As participants of this market we were the briefest players, we left the whole sordid business after a few centuries because we realised the degradation and inhumanity of the whole thing.

Black people were and are being sold by other black people, to Arabs and Africans and for a bit there to white people. Now I am not saying that we were angels and treated our slaves like princes, but could we please try and see things in perspective, with a bit of regard for historical fact? Virtually all the peoples of this earth and its history have engaged in slavery at some point, and I am not trying to excuse that. But the simple fact remains that it is, in particular, the white christian society that participated in this awful business the shortest of all players that made money out of it. Like I said: black people are still selling black people today.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] littlegeorgie 8 years ago

and I am not trying to excuse that.

Actually.

Yeah.

That's EXACTLY what you're trying to do.

And the best part is, you're using the hysterically comical type of reasoning that a typical, immature and self-centered 8-year-old would use to try and do it. "Tommy did it too!"

No man lies so boldly as the man who is indignant.

[–] Jazzie123 8 years ago

Please explain the current slave market in Africa to me, then? The one that was already making loads of money when we joined, and is still making loads of money centuries after we left?

Looking forward to your answer, which I think will never come. So much easier to ignore facts than it is to deal with them.

Good luck with your odd perception of history and humanity.

Oh, and your argument is huge *beep* It is indeed interesting to see if other commit the same crime the 'lone nut' commits. We would have a radically sifferent view of the world if, for example, a lot more people were serial killers. As long as it's the occasional exception, we're talking about something completely different then if it were one in five who would commit serial kurders. So yes, trying to find out how commonplace something is, is most valuable and by no means a cheap excuse.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] Born_Tomorrow 8 years ago

Please explain the current slave market in Africa to me, then? The one that was already making loads of money when we joined, and is still making loads of money centuries after we left?

What does this have to do with American slavery in the Antebellum South? Oh so since they have slaves in Africa, then it makes it okay? SMDH...So your excuse is monkey see monkey just got to do, huh?

Oh, and your argument is huge *beep* It is indeed interesting to see if other commit the same crime the 'lone nut' commits. We would have a radically sifferent view of the world if, for example, a lot more people were serial killers. As long as it's the occasional exception, we're talking about something completely different then if it were one in five who would commit serial kurders. So yes, trying to find out how commonplace something is, is most valuable and by no means a cheap excuse.

And what the hell does this even mean?

I woke up this way...

[–] Born_Tomorrow 8 years ago

As participants of this market we were the briefest players, we left the whole sordid business after a few centuries because we realised the degradation and inhumanity of the whole thing.

So you think hundreds of years is brief? Also, do you really believe that that's why America abolished slavery, because of the degradation and inhumanity in it?

This story does tell the truth. It's the truth about one man's experiences during his 12 yrs as a slave. Every aspect of this movie came directly from the book, which was written during slave era in the U.S. Also, during the time that the book was published, the story was proven to be accurate by researches, who went through the book with a fine tooth comb because a lot of Northerners didn't believe that his story was the truth. In fact, it was published in a paper that a Union officer, who had read the book, located the real Epps plantation around reconstruction and met a slave that had known both Patsy and Solomon. The article stated that Patsy had left the plantation and went away with the army in 1863, almost 10 yrs after Solomon was rescued.

I woke up this way...

[–] activista 8 years ago

@Jazzie123

First of all, 12 YEARS A SLAVE is NOT a Hollywood film---it's an indie film. The handful of films about slavery made since 12 YEARS A SLAVE have all been indie films,period. Hollywood hasn't made a film about slavery since AMISTAD in 1997. So enough b****ing about Hollywood already,which had nothing to do with this film at all.

And this film is about slavery in AMERICA---which was supposed to be "the land of the free and the home of the brave", not in other countries. In other words, American wasn't supposed to be a slave nation, but that's exactly what the hell it was for the first 300 years of its existence. That's the TRUTH you're trying so hard to deflect from. You make it sound like slavery in this country wasn't a big deal since everybody was doing it (and is still doing in some shape or form today.)That's some bull**** and you know it. We already know that, and there are people and organizations fighting that too. You aren't saying anything we haven't already heard before. You didn't discover any brand new "truth" that nobody knew anything about, so stop acting like you did. 12 YEARS A SLAVE told the truth---it just wasn't a truth you wanted to hear about, for whatever the reason. Your little statement clearly wanted to take the focus off white folks' participation in slavery and blame everyone BUT them, that's all.

Also, what current African slave market are you referring to? In which African country are you referring to? You do know that Africa is a continent made up of 57 countries,right,and that it's not one big country by itself? So in which country does this slave market exist? You need to be more specific,please.