Slavery In Twelve Years A Slave And Lincoln

Both Twelve Years a Slave and Lincoln helped shed light on the conditions, attitudes and beliefs surrounding slavery in mid-1800’s America. What was unique about both movies; however, was the way the directors choose to portray how slavery was interpreted through their respective points in American history, and the unique perspectives from which slavery was looked upon. While obviously the most noticeable difference is seen through the choosing of the main protagonist and the time period, Salmon Northrup an African American in the early 1840’s whose journey takes place over a 12 year period in 12 Years a Slave, and President Abraham Lincoln from January through April 1865 in Lincoln, the truly substantial differences arise from the political …show more content…
One of the mediating concepts between both movies was the idea of freedom, more specifically how the idea of African American freedom should be viewed, fought for, and looked upon by the United States. This is best represented in 12 Years a Slave in the conversation between Solomon Northrup and “Liza” after they had been both unjustly sold to Ford. Northrup protests to Liza’s incessant weeping citing there is no cause for it lest she be engulfed by her sorrows. After Liza pushes back insinuating it dishonorable and disingenuous for Solomon to hide his sadness and anger for their current state, Solomon contends saying that he will do everything in his power to “survive” and if it means appeasing his masters for the time being by showcasing his violin skills. Solomon boldly claims he is “fighting for his freedom,” by simply embracing his situation as a slave, whereas Liza believes that freedom does not come by sitting idly by, but rather is something that should be perceived and expressed and “they [slaves]” earn their freedom by recognizing their position and using it to empower them. This argument can be closely compared to that of