Countless film and television works and novels have revealed the tragic heinous crimes of slavery。 Works, like Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Root, Amistad, Tamango, Django Unchained and so on, show the miserable life of black slaves and expose the sin of slavery。 Most of these works are adapted to films, catering to the audiences‟ preferences, adding a lot of personal affection。 But this film, 12 Years A Slave, is based on Solomon‟s real experience as an autobiography of documentary films。 It abandons the traditional view of freedom, but reveals the spirit of rebellion, the essence and the practical significance of the free man who is trafficked and sold into slavery。 The special background and characteristics factors of the protagonist, the stages of his resistance, and its completeness of the process of resisting make his struggle a miniature of the history of slavery rebellion。

The film 12 Years A Slave tells the story of the free black violinist Solomon Northup‟s unfortunate experience of being abducted and sold into slavery in Louisiana。 With the stunning and shocking plot, Solomon regains liberty and becomes a fighter for emancipating the slaves after 12 years‟ exploitation and forbearance。 Solomon tastes the world‟s ugliness of human‟s nature and voracity。 Being born as black as Solomon, whether be slaved or not, blacks are always subject to discrimination and unequal treatment。 In this social environment, his compatriots are the silent majority with endless daily excess labor, lash and swearword。 In this situation, Solomon initiates his unbelievable resistance for  the

whole 12 years。 It is worth exploring and contemplating。

Studies on this film mainly carried out in the following aspects: revealing racial discrimination, reflecting the cruelty of slavery and oppression, and the black women who live under the racial and gender discrimination。 There are also discussions on the aesthetic characteristics of the film embodying the cognitive process of belief of the black slaves and showing the importance of religion in a state of survival。 However, these studies are not essential enough to reveal the soul of the film, which is of the awareness of revolt as salves and its practical significance。文献综述

This paper gives a discussion on the behavior between Solomon and other slaves for generations when they all stuck in this extremely cruel slavery。 Through different angles of a free man and a slave, Solomon shows us his fight for freedom, equality and dignity。 After regaining his identity of a free black man, he revolts for the rights of all the black slaves。

2。 Slavery in the United States

Slavery in the United States originates from the first English colonization period of North America in Virginia in 1607。 The majority of the slaves were Africans and they were held by Europeans。 Slaves could be found in the areas with good quality soil for large plantations of high value crops, such as cotton, sugar, and coffee。 Most slaveholders were in the southern United States。 Slaves were treated in a miserable and painful way。

Blacks are concentrated mainly in the predominantly agricultural south and North America in cotton tobacco and other agricultural production。 In 1776, the North American continent formally adopted the “Declaration of Independence”, declaring that “all men are created equal,” but this “man” does not include blacks。 (Brophy 478)