Running head: FILM AND HISTORY COMPARATIVE ESSAY: SOLOMON NORTHUP, 12 YEARS A SLAVE

FILM AND HISTORY COMPARATIVE ESSAY: SOLOMON

NORTHUP, 12 YEARS A SLAVE

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FILM AND HISTORY COMPARATIVE ESSAY: SOLOMON NORTHUP, 12 YEARS A SLAVE

Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 3

Comparative discussion ............................................................................................................. 4

Positive aspects each medium ................................................................................................ 4

Negative aspects of each medium .......................................................................................... 8

Justification of selecting particular medium ........................................................................ 10

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 11

Reference List .......................................................................................................................... 12

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FILM AND HISTORY COMPARATIVE ESSAY: SOLOMON NORTHUP, 12 YEARS A SLAVE

Introduction
Depiction of history through book or cinematic representation (film version) often

acts as juxtaposition of contrasting phenomena. Notable fact is that learning historical

information through a specified medium exhibits both positive and negative aspects as an

instructional form. While looking at literary aspect, contrasting effect of both the medium in

terms of advantages and disadvantages cannot be denied due to dissimilar representation.

In this regard, it appears imperative to address a subtle aspect regarding depiction of history

by a certain medium. It has been seldom seen that academic instincts attempt to judge the

virtuosity of the medium by its ability to ‘translate’ the historical facts without distorting it.

Thus, this sense of ‘translation’ needs to be distinguished from the ability of a medium to

‘represent’ since that is another integral aspect of virtuosity. Especially in case of a film

whose narrative owes a great deal from another medium, the ability to represent seems to be

constrained by the liability to retain the authenticity of the historical facts proposed by the

mother medium. Historical documents can be fused with the narrative in a cryptic or

idiosyncratic manner, exploring the alternative kernels of virtuosity while replacing the

concern of ‘translation’ with ‘representation’. For instance, the Israeli short film namely

Though I know the river is dry can be recalled where the idiosyncratic (read it as creative)

juxtaposition of the historical documents via original archival footages seem to intensify the

significance of history as the paramount context, instead of mere being the context.

Furthermore, the text named ‘Season of Migration to the North’ (written by Tayeb Salih)
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FILM AND HISTORY COMPARATIVE ESSAY: SOLOMON NORTHUP, 12 YEARS A SLAVE

itself has been used as a historical document (The movie is not an adaptation of the book.

Rather it has been used as a representative of the historical epoch that the movie intends to

deal with) that signifies the virtuosity of the medium by its ability to ‘represent’.

However, the discourse going to be developed afterwards accelerates a comparative

discussion aiming towards finding out best-suited purpose of academic course considering

the book and film version of 12 years A Slave to know history.

Comparative discussion

Positive aspects each medium

Film as a medium to teach history

Once a renowned filmmaker seems to denounce the textbooks of history being devoid

of images and only framing the arguments on texts, which, in this regard, seem to own a

central significance. Furthermore, the dictum of Ferdinand Celine can also be recalled in the

context who also possess equal resentments regarding the history books being framed upon

only textual argument. He used to say that facts would gradually stop speaking for itself as

the field of vision has begun to be eclipsed by the field of text. From the aforementioned

apprehensions, it is very evident that the representation of facts through images caters the

possibility to retain the authenticity of history the most. It can be considered as one of the

fundamental aspects of cinema, which embodies the advantage of teaching history through
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FILM AND HISTORY COMPARATIVE ESSAY: SOLOMON NORTHUP, 12 YEARS A SLAVE

films. Furthermore, it can also be derived from the two scholarly simulations that it is the text

that encourages the misinterpretation or distortion of historical facts.

As once mentioned by a scholar of cinema that two of the eyes are not enough to comprehend

history, we also need to lend our ears to understand history, it is evident that the significance

of film being a medium is embedded within statement. To learn history in a proper sense, we

need to spare our sub-conscious to the discipline. In this regard, film appears to be the sole

medium to influence the sub-conscious directly. In this regard, it needs to be mentioned that

cinema enjoys the advantage of an image coupled with sound to depict a certain historical

event.

Once the renowned filmmaker Philip Kauffman made a film adaption of the celebrated novel

‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being’ by Milan Kundera, which has been heard to be

renounced by the author blaming the inability of the cineaste to represent the emotions of the

characters practically. In the current case, it needs to be noted that Steve Macqueen has to

function under more intense constraints since 12 years a slave is not only an historical

account but also a semi-autobiographical account of Solomon Northup. As cinema is

inherently conditioned to be of a reasonable length, it is by default impossible for cinema to

realize an epic like Mahabharata or Odyssey. On the other hand, as books are free to function

without any prevalent hindrances, they can incorporate the integral nuances of a particular

period of history. However, it has been also seen that texts experience an immense urge for

the correspondence of an image in order to transcend the discourse from being a monotonous
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FILM AND HISTORY COMPARATIVE ESSAY: SOLOMON NORTHUP, 12 YEARS A SLAVE

and uni-dimensional account. Thus, film with its prerogative to recreate a particular historical

event through sound and image while exercising the ability to influence the sub-conscious

profoundly, can be considered as one of the effective exponents to teach history.

Book as a medium to teach history

Books can be considered as a fascinating medium to enhance the awareness regarding

the historical documents. Before 1900, that is before the advent of audio-visual media book

happens to be the sole to teach history. Furthermore, there exists extensive acknowledgement

of books as a fecund medium to learn about the historical landscapes. It has been that film,

being the latest medium of expression, owes a great deal to history in terms of plot

introduction, execution even in terms narrative as well which is considered as the soul of

cinema. Renowned filmmakers such as Sergei Eisenstein seem to involve him to film ‘Ten

Days that Shook the World’ by John Reed which is considered as one of the fecund

depictions of the Russian revolution in 1917. Thus, it needs to be admitted that, in most of the

cases, the authors have chosen to depict history in books mainly out of the constraint of not

having alternate medium to address their apprehension regarding history. Furthermore,

probably they intend to exercise the advantage that books usually enjoy while depicting

history. The advantage is the liberty that the books wield as compared to films is the ability to

function without the barrier of pages.

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FILM AND HISTORY COMPARATIVE ESSAY: SOLOMON NORTHUP, 12 YEARS A SLAVE

Furthermore, it has been observed that history is prone to carry several floating emblems that

actively influence not only the discourse on which the history has been written but also the

trajectory of history itself. However, it urges for greater understandings of Semiotics to

decipher those emblems and, in this regard, what history books do is to cater the

establishment of the chains of those signifiers within the sub-conscious of that immediate

reader. Thus, it needs to be addressed that books actually enable film to accomplish the

prerogative, which films exercise to consolidate its dominance in terms of a medium of

expression. Furthermore, the prevalent chain of signifiers makes the impact of images on the

sub-conscious of a beholder more blatant as it has been found that most of the historical epics

does not appeal those viewers who does not possess an incipient understanding regarding the

facts that the films intend to deal with. Thus, it is very evident from the discussion that it is an

fallacious act to determine or judge the superiority of any medium as both of the mediums

have been juxtaposed and bound to respond under same purpose.

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FILM AND HISTORY COMPARATIVE ESSAY: SOLOMON NORTHUP, 12 YEARS A SLAVE

Negative aspects of each medium

Negative aspects of cinema

It has been discovered that cinema is the only medium within the two mediums under

consideration which has been blamed to distort history the most. Apart from subtle disparities

(like in 12 years a slave), there are instances of movies that pertain blatant disparities to such

a extent that it might be designated as an act of betrayal with the prototypal text. In this

regard, it has been seen that films intend to exercise its ability to create illusion and, as a

consequence of that, intends to deal with history in an objective manner For instance, after

watching the movie, Roger Ebert, the celebrated film critic, seem to compare the movie 12

Years a Slave with the counterfeit of a “torture porn”. This objective approach towards

history can be cited as the major negative aspect that films usually. Though maintaining a

subjective approach towards the text, it is probably due to the absence of individual

engagement through personal experience that Steve McQueen have been unable to make this

movie free from any disparities. The major flagrant disparity, which have been depicted in

the movie, is the movie, in a shrewd manner refuses to involve itself to shed light on the

working principles of slave owners (peculiar institution, in accordance with a celebrated

euphemism) that Solomon has described in the book in a vividly subtle manner. The several

other disparities can be categorized as

1. Northup’s account offers a kind insight to the American slaves which is probably

eclipsed by the objective perspective of Steve MacQueen

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FILM AND HISTORY COMPARATIVE ESSAY: SOLOMON NORTHUP, 12 YEARS A SLAVE

2. The rural dialects sounds too awkward in the tone of Ejiofor and Fassbender and

appear as a violation of the aesthetic urge proposed in the memoir

3. The portrayal of Lupita Nyong as a upper-new class New Orleanian is flamboyant but

fallacious to the text

4. The blatant disparity between the intent of the memoir and intent of the movie

Negative aspects of books

As it was feebly mention earlier that omnipresence of texts seem to eclipse the scope

of vision, it can be considered as the major consequence of the adverse aspects of teaching

histories through books. The academic discourse have begun to rely on the historical texts

like a frenzy without adhering to the fact that history is an off-being and subjective entity.

Thus, it has been discovered that they seem to ignore the notion of ‘time’ in the name of

venerating the perpetual while violating the historical maxim that ‘Time is the prologue of

eternity’. It can be said again that it is vague to distinguish between this two medium on the

pursuit of judging the universal superiority of one of the mediums. However, it is also a fact

that films appear to be the only medium that seems to indulge the aspect of ‘reconstruction’

or ‘reconstruction through deconstruction’ of history. Books appear inherently frigid to cater

that.
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FILM AND HISTORY COMPARATIVE ESSAY: SOLOMON NORTHUP, 12 YEARS A SLAVE

Justification of selecting particular medium

As it empirically mentioned earlier, it is the prerogative of image that movies enjoy

exercising insists the recommendation of cinema more effective to teach history as compared

to books. It has been discovered that film is the only media that indulge the true seekers of

history to deploy all of their acumen. Though it is true that the concrete base of books assist

films to avail the prerogative of images, it also needs to addressed the requisite impact of the

emblems of history has been triggered by films solely. Without even attempting to distinguish

the two mediums, pursuits need to framed to argue about the interconnection of this two

mediums.

Furthermore, to teach history, universities can be recommended to exercise audio-visual

media as the moot mode, over books since it enables the students to respond to the historical

circumstances readily. The discipline of history has been always blamed for being

monotonous and the probable explanation of that is, before the advent of audio-visual media,

the admonitions regarding history is completely based upon texts and treatises. Apart from

everything else, audio-visual media is the sole media who have exhibited the audacity to

respond to some profound historical questions. For instance, against the score prepared by the

sincere enquiry, namely ‘Can the Subalterns speak?’ (Gayatri Spivak), one film theoretician

seem to respond as ‘It is the sole job of audio-visual media.

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FILM AND HISTORY COMPARATIVE ESSAY: SOLOMON NORTHUP, 12 YEARS A SLAVE

Conclusion
This study intends to recommend films as a fecund media to teach history as

compared to books. As it was mentioned earlier, it has been that a sacrosanct attitude towards

the history books has been maintained n terms of depicting historical events. On the score of

the apprehensions proposed by the discussion, the evident aspect is cinema is somewhat

conditioned by its own principles to gaze objectively over the historical events which

vindicates the denouncement of films regarding the notion of distortion. On the other hand, as

history books prefer to impart a subjective attitude (to some extent personal tone), it

immediately enables us to be a little bit sacrosanct about it being the authentic exhibitor of

history. In the light of the above discussion, what is farcical is to deploy oneself in the

differentiation of those two mediums in terms of superiority, and what can be apprehended is

that the deployment of this two medium to learn history has been advocated by the very

purpose. As the current suit is obliged to recommend only one medium, the recommendation

will be film as it wields the ability to insist the immediate viewers to react against the

historical circumstances.
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FILM AND HISTORY COMPARATIVE ESSAY: SOLOMON NORTHUP, 12 YEARS A SLAVE

Reference List

Latinamericanstudies.org (2018). Retrieved 8 March 2018, from

http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/slavery/Twelve_years_a_slave.pdf

Kermode, M. (2018). 12 Years a Slave – review. the Guardian. Retrieved 8 March 2018,

from https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jan/12/12-years-a-slave-review