Introduction
Based on Solomon Northup’s 1853 autobiography of the same name, Steve McQueen’s drama picture 12 Years a Slave was released in the United States in 2013. The movie takes a solid and moving look at the atrocities of slavery, and its technical features are essential in delivering that message. The technical features of “12 Years a Slave” are expertly employed to enhance the narrative and provide viewers with an emotionally compelling experience that conceptualizes characters like Eliza and Patsy as commodities.
Cinematography
The fantastic cinematography in 12 Years a Slave lends the movie a unique poignancy. Sean Bobbitt, the film’s cinematographer, combines long views and close-ups to show the estates’ size and the intimacy of slavery. The characters’ untamed emotions are depicted when the camera lingers on the beating of the slaves.
The film’s aesthetic greatly benefits because everything was captured on only one camera. The filmmaker thinks that having more than one camera in a place would jeopardize all of them since having more than one would compromise only one (Islamy and Andi 186). This will, therefore, diminish aesthetics as a whole. The most potent component of filmmaking is using a single camera because it challenges the spectator to concentrate rather than merely scrolling through a montage of images to locate the correct scenario.
The director had a team of focused individuals who made crucial aesthetic and narrative judgments throughout the day rather than deferring them to a later time. These aspects became a kind of the soul of cinematography for this particular movie. The operator similarly creates breathtaking scenes that emphasize the beauty of the natural environment while demonstrating how slave owners are abusing that beauty. He does this by utilizing natural lighting and surroundings to great advantage. The last image, in which Northup stands on a balcony in front of a crowd of liberated people, is photographed in robust and natural light, bringing out the harshness and beauty of his experience.
The superb editing in “12 Years a Slave” conveys the characters’ suffering and despair in every scene. The harsh truth of the slave trade, in which kids are taken away from their homes and exploited like things, is depicted by Eliza’s experience. This approach allows us to focus on understanding that black women are nothing more than commodities.
The cinematography supports the film’s overarching storyline, which is designed to emphasize the cruelty and closeness of slavery. The agony and dread of the enslaved are heightened when the camera lingers on their faces. Using natural lighting and surroundings underlines the contrast between the natural beauty and the cruelty of slavery. Additionally, specific sequences, like the one when Epps punishes Patsy, employ excessively lengthy takes to convey a sense of detachment and helplessness that mirrors that of the slaves.
Sound Design and Music
While watching the movie, the intensely immersive sound design of “12 Years a Slave” induces a feeling of anxiety and anticipation that is nearly intolerable. The sound design includes sounds like the screams of slaves being tortured and the groaning of moving ships’ hulls (12 Years a Slave). The music is particularly memorable during Eliza’s beating, with the sharp crack of the whip and her agonized screams dominating the scene.
The captivating and evocative soundtrack by Hans Zimmer for 12 Years a Slave highlights the intensity of each scene’s emotional content. The violin is one of several instruments used in the music to produce a sad and eerie theme that lingers in the audience’s mind after the movie. The use of quiet in Zimmer’s soundtrack is noteworthy because it lets the tension and passion of the film speak for itself. The music emphasizes and portrays the characters’ feelings, particularly the ominous soundtrack. Silence may also be employed in situations like hangings to evoke strong emotions. This reinforces the story’s point that black people are a commodity.
Editing and Production Design
The exceptional editing in 12 Years a Slave effectively portrays the characters’ anguish and hopelessness in each scene. The movie moves at a methodical, slow pace that lets spectators fully comprehend the horrors of slavery (Islamy and Andi 189). The whipping sequences stand out for their slow, piercing montage because they have minimal cuts, letting the viewer experience the complete anguish of the incident. The intricate and accurate design of 12 Years a Slave transports viewers to the antebellum South. The settings for the movie are meticulously constructed to accurately depict plantation life, from the little, filthy slave quarters to the large, lovely main mansion.
Structural Elements
The main wish line in the movie’s plot is finding a deeper reality that takes into account time, viewpoint, and the system. The film’s scriptwriter manipulates time in this story using a flashback framework. Screenwriter John Ridley begins with his protagonist already engaged in the horrors of slavery rather than delivering the narrative in chronological order. This offers the narrative a startling jolt and establishes a framework through which the character and the viewer may look back and consider how he came to be in that position.
Ridley further emphasizes the system of slavery that black women fell into through the narratives of Eliza and Patsy. This is a crucial stage in boosting the story’s power and depth, emphasizing that black women of that time were simply commodities, and anyone could do anything with them. No matter how awful it may be, the movie is not merely the captivity of one individual. Even the white slave owners in this tale are caught up in a more extensive destructive system.
To present his narrative, Ridley also makes use of horror filmmaking tropes. Horror’s unique structural feature places the hero under more strain than any other genre (Islamy and Andi 190). For example, Epps usage of Patsy as a sexual object and punishment. Ridley makes up for this flaw by placing heroes under a lot of strain immediately and never letting them down throughout the story.
Conclusion
With sincere emotion and technical skill, “12 Years a Slave” tells the story of one of America’s most shameful moments. Combining cinematography, sound design, music, editing, and production design results in a vivid and unique experience that the audience will not soon forget. The technical features of this movie aid in telling the story and provide insight into the talent and teamwork needed to convey such a complicated and emotional tale on the big screen. In the movie, Patsy and Eliza both stand in for the commodification and dehumanization of slaves. Their stories demonstrate how individuals were viewed as property throughout the slave trade.
Works Cited
Islamy, Athifa Reihan, and Andi Muhammad Irawan. “Discriminatory Discourses against Black People in 12 Years A Slave Movie: A Critical Discourse Study.” English Language and Literature, vol 12, no. 1, 2023, 184-194. Web.
12 Years a Slave. Directed by Steve McQueen, Searchlight Pictures, 2013.