I do not know how old are you, but me being an old head, the film when it 1st came out in '91 was unprecedented at the time. They never seen a film like it. It's why it is still held as a timeless classic. The only other two films that were directed better in 1991, IMO, with one that deserved its win, were Silence of the Lambs & JFK.
Just saw 12 Years a Slave
- Thread starter mastermind
- Start date
-
- Tags
- movies
I do not know how old are you, but me being an old head, the film when it 1st came out in '91 was unprecedented at the time. They never seen a film like it. It's why it is still held as a timeless classic. The only other two films that were directed better in 1991, IMO, with one that deserved its win, were Silence of the Lambs & JFK.
I glad I can read opinions here considering imdb was starting to piss me off with the usual,"get over it, the holocaust was much worse and recent, b b but blacks owned slaves too". Anyways can someone clarify what the slave in the beginning where he followed solomon into the store was about. Was it the fact that the slave had never seen a free black man before and it was just something he couldn't believe so he followed to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him?
Also @BdaBo$$, what are your thoughts on the movie? Any reason why you 1* this thread?
Hopefully we can get a Nat Turner (not django) or Toussaint soon on the big screen.
Also @BdaBo$$, what are your thoughts on the movie? Any reason why you 1* this thread?
Hopefully we can get a Nat Turner (not django) or Toussaint soon on the big screen.
Last edited:
Drew Wonder
Superstar
True. Like, I understand they had a lot of history to cover in a short time span but the fact that they gave the Freedom Riders and MLK so much attention while glossing over Malcolm and the Panthers later on was pretty telling as far as who they wanted the movie to really appeal to
but where it failed as a thorough history of black America I thought it succeeded as an actual movie. the acting and story arc of the characters was well done imo and it kept me invested. I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel some type of way when he protested with his son at the end
I view the Butler the same way I view Forest Gump. Not nearly as deep or in depth as far as what it's trying to say about America as it thinks it is, but still an entertaining piece of fiction in its own right
It was basically two realities clashing. The slave saw Solomon in awe that a Black man can freely shop around without a master into a pricey store at that and Solomon seeing this slave and was dismissive at the fact he was viewed as a slave. Solomon was reflecting back because he, at that time, didn't empathize with that individual at the shop and the fact he wasn't free whereas he was.
Malik
Superstar
The Butler lost me the way they demonized the militant son. I remember one scene where he was like...."why are you going down there and stirring up all this trouble for? The white man is trying to help us"
They weren't just demonizing the Panthers, they demonized the Freedom Riders too. In the movie, the son was someone who kept letting down his Butler father because he just couldn't stay out of jail and trouble. If it wasn't for people like your son going down to the south and being a nuisance, your crusty azz wouldn't have any rights
Fukk that movie.
They weren't just demonizing the Panthers, they demonized the Freedom Riders too. In the movie, the son was someone who kept letting down his Butler father because he just couldn't stay out of jail and trouble. If it wasn't for people like your son going down to the south and being a nuisance, your crusty azz wouldn't have any rights
Fukk that movie.
Drew Wonder
Superstar
The Butler lost me the way they demonized the militant son. I remember one scene where he was like...."why are you going down there and stirring up all this trouble for? The white man is trying to help us"
They weren't just demonizing the Panthers, they demonized the Freedom Riders too. In the movie, the son was someone who kept letting down his Butler father because he just couldn't stay out of jail and trouble. If it wasn't for people like your son going down to the south and being a nuisance, your crusty azz wouldn't have any rights
We must've watched two completely different movies bruh. if that's what you got from the movie then you either a)weren't paying attention or b)saw it was made by the dude that made Precious, got caught up in the Coli hate and made up your mind before even watching it
creating conflict between two characters and demonizing are two different things. the scenes where the Butler reads about what the Freedom Riders did and acknowledges that his son was a hero as well as the scene where he goes to jail with him for protesting indicated that it was the Butler who was in the wrong. there's also the part where he's honored at the White House dinner and you notice how much he regrets being a servant for white people his whole life.
The Butler came from an era where protesting against whites meant death, and they established that early in the plantation scene with his dad. It didn't justify his submissive attitude but it explained why he had it and why he was so adamant about his son not protesting. nowhere did it try to push that this was the right attitude to have, they were just explaining why the Butler felt the way he did
where it criticized the son was his lack of appreciation for everything the Butler did for him and the sacrifices he made. it was basically saying that the civil rights generation wouldn't have the knowledge and opportunity to fight for equality if not for the sacrifices made by the previous Jim Crow generation. it wasn't saying that the civil rights generation was wrong just that there should at least be more of an appreciation for what the previous generation did rather than just a complete dismissal
like I said, the portrayal of the Panthers was problematic, but the Freedom Riders was very well done as far as showing what they went through
Malik
Superstar
Epps loved Patsy. I'm not comparing homosexuality to being black but, its kinda like a movie where a downlow man has sex with a guy then beats that guy up afterward for insinuating that he's a homosexual. The man knows he likes men but, he's still bigoted toward gays. Being gay goes against everything he is. That's Epps. He's a racist slave owner and to him blacks are little more than cattle yet, he has an unhealthy obsession for one of those slaves. Even to the point that he told his own wife she could 
if she made him choose between her and Patsy. Complete cognitive dissonance.
His love was obsessive, wrong and impure because he viewed Patsy as property. But nonetheless, he "loved" her. If it was just about Epps the slavemaster lusting for black slave coochie, he would have been that obsessive and controlling with all of the black slave women. He only had that problem with Pasty, god bless her poor soul.
if she made him choose between her and Patsy. Complete cognitive dissonance.His love was obsessive, wrong and impure because he viewed Patsy as property. But nonetheless, he "loved" her. If it was just about Epps the slavemaster lusting for black slave coochie, he would have been that obsessive and controlling with all of the black slave women. He only had that problem with Pasty, god bless her poor soul.
Thats a different form of love. Thats like the love you have for a car to built from the ground up.Epps loved Patsy. I'm not comparing homosexuality to being black but, its kinda like a movie where a downlow man has sex with a guy then beats that guy up afterward for insinuating that he's a homosexual. The man knows he likes men but, he's still bigoted toward gays. Being gay goes against everything he is. That's Epps. He's a racist slave owner and to him blacks are little more than cattle yet, he has an unhealthy obsession for one of those slaves. Even to the point that he told his own wife she could
His love was obsessive, wrong and impure because he viewed Patsy as property. But nonetheless, he "loved" her. If it was just about Epps the slavemaster lusting for black slave coochie, he would have been that obsessive and controlling with all of the black slave women. He only had that problem with Pasty, god bless her poor soul.
Malik
Superstar
That's why I said it was wrong and impure.
I one starred it because I thought the movie didn't bring anything new to the table. Just a slave getting that slave treatment. No character development, plot or anything that showed a different twist to slavery on top of the dude being a fukkin c00n to the fullest. There were a lot of little things I wasn't feeling in the movie that just made blacks look weak as shyt.
For example, we got these dudes basically plotting a get away /taking over before they get on the boat. Now this is still in the north territory so it aint like they couldn't just run to some form of safety until they produced their papers. Got the one dude talkin all that "nikkas ain't going to do nothing" speech then white dude comes down to rape the chick only one man stood up for her. WEAK shyt you could've at least knocked dude out and had a knife. Then when dude got rescued by his master when the ship first stopped. WEAK shyt again, I almost cringed at that muthafukka running to that fat white b*stard. I get it, he probably couldn't do anything to help but to run up like a bytch and get patted on his head like some lost 3 year old?!? fukk outta here. I just feel like even though the director was trying to be accurate he could've showed it in a less bytch made way. But at this point I still was thinking the movie had hopes of being on shawshank redemption levels of payback so I didn't mind.
The part that really got me is when the end came and he chose to beat that chick with the whip. Dude deserved to die right there man. This is how I see it. You already got called out years ago for not trying to reason with your master by the chick.( I actually understood him too on his reasoning of keeping quiet until he had a shot for freedom.) But I was under the impression that maybe this fool was about to be on his underground railroad steeze instead of being a top notch slave. Dude didnt do shyt when that chick was begging for help back then. But as soon as that chubby Shia LaBeouf looking dude started fukking with him he wanted to put it on the line. So fast forward to when the scene came up I just knew this dude was about to smack the fukk outta that cac with the whip. Instead he beat that chick smh
I mean outside of showing some brutal treatment and conditions what did the movie really bring to the table. A dude got kidnapped, made a slave and got free'd 12 years later because of a lucky break from a contractor. The movie wasn't much more than that. My problem also lies with them trying to push this as some "must see" black movie when it really makes blacks look weak as fukk and reliant upon whites. I mean we see..
Blacks unwilling to help each other
unwilling to die for a cause
Clowning religion but at the same time show the lead character getting caught up in a song about religion like he caught the spirit
throw in a couple of ******s aint shyt and baboons
Now what was the real purpose of this movie breh? did you learn anything? did any of the black characters win? even though majority of the whites were weird sociopaths wasn't the hero a white dude? I get it this happened, but to be real I need to see that movie about blacks using that underground railroad. Putting a knife in a cac when they have too. Not this weak shyt. I can't believe these scenarios didn't happen or we'd still be slaves. So for that fukk hollywood for pushing this weak shyt. Best movie ever
Last edited:
Mic-Nificent
I didn't eat nobody
You do realize that this movie is based on a Autobiography right?
I'll assume your talking to me. and yeah I do. Dont really mean shyt to me though. You do realize no matter who starred in it or directed it. Millions of dollars was put behind "this" particular story right? This story got "green lit " why I really can't imagine . I really got to wonder is there a single black person that felt like that movie did slavery justice from a black perspective?
Mic-Nificent
I didn't eat nobody
The person who wanted to make the movie was Steve McQueen and he had a somewhat difficult time getting it made till he went Brad Pitt.
And I don't even know why you would ask that last question considering multiple black folks in this thread have praised the movie.
praised for what? figures about the brad pitt part