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Submitted by Peter Knupfer on Monday, March 10, 2014
12 Years a Slave spotlights Saratoga's black history By Dennis Yusko Updated 10:01 am, Tuesday, March 4, 2014 http://www.timesunion.com Copyright, 2014, Hearst Corporation
Saratoga Springs
Local residents who for years told the tragic but triumphant tale of a Saratoga violinist sold into slavery swelled with pride Monday after the story won Hollywood's top prize.
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Submitted by Leslie Maria on Sunday, March 9, 2014
I agree that the narrative 12 Years a Slave is troubling. However, those aspects are part of the original text. It seems that "Hollywood" could have done one of two things: reproduce the text, with many of its problems intact, including viewing this through Solomon's eyes (which is what happened); or gone beyond the text to do more research or, worse, create something not real to what we know of Solomon's life. I shudder at the latter; would hope for the more research, but that rarely happens.
Submitted by Nicholas Rowe on Saturday, March 8, 2014
As an opening reply, you raise the classical struggle concerning history on film: must the film adhere to the sources and evidence closely, or must it be "good theatre" as it were. Full Disclosure: the film has just come out here (South Africa), and I have yet to see it. Yet given that the Solomon narrative has been given a bit of the Hollywood treatment, there are certain conventions that would lead the account toward a particular direction, especially the need to emotionally tie things up, as Dr Fraser implies. I am sure there are many other issues, and I will be quiet for now until I see the film, but this tension between the conventions of cinema and historical accuracy will be an important matter to discuss. -- NR
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