The Irony Song
In the movie, the theme of racism has further been escalated by the ironic song that ridicules the black race. The song that was initially an African-American folk song has been known from different versions. The song has its lyrics going as “Run nigger run, run so fast/Stoved his head in a hornets’ nest/Run nigger run well the pattyroller’ll get you/ Run nigger run well you better get away.” The song rose out of the rise of slave patrols in the slave-owning southern United States and is about an unnamed black man attempting to run from a slave patrol and evade capture. The song was released as a commercial recording several times from the 1920s until it was included in the 12 Years a Slave film of 2013. The black slaves were not allowed to leave their master’s plantations without a pass because of the fear that they would rise against the white owners. However, the slaves made it a habit to sneak away from the plantations and visit friends elsewhere. In response, the slaves considered better being caught running away from the slave patrols than attempting to explain oneself and face the whip, making them compose various songs regarding the patrols and the slaves’ attempt to escape them. And that’s how the song “Run, Nigger, Run” came about.
Film Setting and Tone
Since the film is based on Northup’s true story of being enslaved, the film set was altered, but the shots were real and presented the feeling of being enslaved, and all the scenes were recorded as they are without editing. The tone of being in agony and pain has engulfed the film since it was shot in the historic antebellum plantations, which included Felicity, Bocage, Magnolia and Destrehan to give the audience the reality of the slavery and racism that dominated southern America for more than 12 years. The Magnolia Plantation is just a few miles from the site of Northup being held. Additionally, the tone is also set by the feeling of dancing with ghosts giving the sense of those horror days of slavery coupled with racism in southern America.
Conclusion
The 12 Years a Slave is a movie that aims to give insightful truths concerning how the black slavery culture came to be and how too ended up in southern America. Black slavery culture dominated southern America, and strict rules were set to control the slaves within the set plantations where they worked without any pay. The slavery culture was more common because the black people offered cheap labor. They were quickly captured from the African continent and transported across the Atlantic Ocean to southern America. So that the slaves did not mingle with the rest of the population or other slaves; they were not encouraged to leave the plantations without a pass, they could not team up against the white owners. Generally, the movie is a fascinating history to understand more about the slave culture in southern America.