Finally, I've done it! I've finally watched "12 Years A Slave" (2013). Will I ever do it again? We'll see. Do I want to? Certainly not. Let me explain.
I watched the winner of this year's Best Picture Academy Award several months too late, after all the media buzz had fizzled away. The funny thing about my waiting so long is that I actually really wanted to see the movie since its release, but I was never able to find the perfect moment to do so. You know those movies that you think are so good that you don't want to watch them for the sake of avoiding that "Man, that was awesome, but it's too bad that I've already seen it now" feeling? Well, that's exactly what happened to me. "12 Years A Slave" was just about to join the ranks of movies that are too good for me to watch - a "The Godfather" (1972), "Malcolm X" (1992) and "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (1975) - when I randomly made a decision to buckle down and watch it.
Before I started the movie, I ensured that absolutely everything in the room was just right. I tilted the television to an optimal angle, I adjusted the temperature to just-the-right-level-of-lukewarm, I prepared a flawless bowl of popcorn with no kernels, I gathered a nest of pillows and I wrapped myself up in a blanket so soft that I swear it had fallen straight down from a passing cloud. At last, I was ready to experience what everyone had been talking about - the wonderment, the emotional turmoil, the gripping imagery, the stunning acting. I took a deep breath and pressed play.
Then, just like that, it was over. What? Was that it? Wow. It sucked. To be fair, I may have been judging the movie based on the wrong criteria. I happened to be expecting to see a film that would pull me into the bowels of an intriguing biographical narrative, portraying the experience of protagonist Solomon Northup's (ChiwetelEjiofor) seemingly endless suffering in the midst of a dehumanizing institution perpetuated by slave masters, kidnappers and bystanders alike. I wanted to see a movie so good that I'd even forget that it was a movie.
Instead what I got was a forced amalgamation of scattered scenes with missing transitions and other annoying cinematic issues. I kept searching for a character to sympathize with, and I never knew quite which emotion to feel. Furthermore, the film lacked a cohesive storyline. I grew so disconnected from it that I couldn't even properly empathize during scenes that accurately depicted physical suffering. I just wondered why those things were happening in the first place, since often times they didn't really seem to fit into the supposed narrative. Furthermore, the motives of the perpetrators were usually vague and unclear. And as for the painfully awkward ending ... I can't even.
Oh, well. Just a swing and a miss, I thought. But then I suddenly came to terms with a sad reality. "Django Unchained" (2012) which I like to jokingly describe as "the best made bad movie ever made" was, even with all its flaws, a far better film than "12 Years A Slave." Hands down. Then I realized an even sadder reality: that "Django Unchained" was the only prominent film I could think of to compare to "12 Years A Slave."
There are, however, often-overlooked and well-executed films that tell the story of slaves. Be sure to watch HaileGerima's 1993 film "Sankofa," a well constructed, well-written and realistic slave narrative that highlights the realities of antebellum slavery and is both mentally and emotionally engaging. You can skip "12 Years A Slave."
Nash Simpson is a senior majoring in English. He can be reached at Nash.Simpson@tufts.edu.
