tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5312853715123370916.post3972201903188490827..comments2024-03-17T00:10:44.022+00:00Comments on From Arse To Elbow: The Non-Revenger's TragedyDavid Timoneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03568348438980023320noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5312853715123370916.post-2421244003994375042014-01-14T17:00:07.096+00:002014-01-14T17:00:07.096+00:00You're quite right that the treatment of the c...You're quite right that the treatment of the characters is problematic, and I think this is the central compromise with Hollywood. The real-life Solomon Northup was clearly not half as heroic (in a nobly suffering way) as depicted, and certainly not the petit-bourgeois suggested by the early scenes (he was variously a navvy, a chippy and a seasonal fiddle-player). <br /><br />I suspect McQueen was more interested in the Epps/Patsey dynamic, and thus uses Solomon as a witness (his eyes certainly do overtime). This role as "us", the human camera recording the horror, requires that the character be drawn sympathetically, hence the picture-perfect home life (we should be thankful Bill Cosby was too old for the part).<br /><br />One cliche is that the white working class is portrayed as cowardly and venal, notably Armsby, who is reduced to fieldwork but spared the lash, and Tibeats. This is true to Northup's memoir, but it reinforces the impression that his real tragedy was to become déclassé.David Timoneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03568348438980023320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5312853715123370916.post-63636418614279044802014-01-14T15:58:14.898+00:002014-01-14T15:58:14.898+00:00lots to admire in this film but like you I am unli...lots to admire in this film but like you I am unlikely to re-watch, whereas I would re-watch Django, which many have sneered at in comparison to this seemingly more noble and realistic work. I had an issue thinking about it afterwards with the dehumanisation of the other black male slaves - do any black men apart from Solomon even get a line of dialogue post-auction? it felt like Solomon's fate was seen as 'worse', and he is more capable of suffering, because he had previously been a free man. apart from the two female slaves he has something of an emotional relationship with - whose characters nonetheless are basically unhinged grieving mother and unhinged sexual victim - and the female ex-slave who has married a plantation owner - a non-unhinged sexual victim - the other slaves seem fairly dehumanised cotton-picking, negro spiritual crooning cardboard cutouts. maybe a problem deriving from the source - maybe Solomon did see himself a cut above and suffering more. But I was left feeling more politically uncomfortable with 12 Years than with Django, which was basically what it said on the tin - a blow em up revenge fantasy - but which at least had black male slaves such as the Samuel L Jackson character with real depth of characterisation rather than nobly suffering machines. and while I would like my kids to see 12 Years, they have no intention of doing so as it sounds boring and worthy - whereas my son at least saw Django and loved it. but the film is worth the price of admission for Michael Fassbender's performance alone, and has motivated me to try and seek out McQueen/Fassbender's first collaboration, Hunger, which I missed first time round.Clare Collinsnoreply@blogger.com