Heart Wrenching Scene

Many people decide to watch a film based on whether or not it is based on a true story and if it is a popular movie. Twelve years a slave is a popular film based on a true story. It was released in 2013 and was one of the best selling films that year. This film is full of heart wrenching scenes and it is difficult to choose a most effective scene. In this post, I chose a scene that I think is important and explained why it was so effective.

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One Important Scene

It is important to have extra time in one’s day to incorporate things they enjoy. Watching television and movies is one of the most popular ways to spend one’s extra time. Every movie incorporates important scenes and a most important scene that is integral to the story. After watching the film Twelve Years A Slave, it was difficult to choose a scene that was considered ‘most important,’ but there was one scene that most vividly depicted how slaves used to be treated. This scene happens between approximately one hour and thirty seven minutes and one hour and forty minutes during the film.

            Throughout this movie there are many heart wrenching scenes, but this scene in particular seemed to be one of the most heart wrenching. In this scene, the main character, Solomon, is forced to whip a fellow slave, Patsey, by their ‘owner,’ Edwin Epps. After tying up Patsey, Edwin decides he wants Solomon to whip Patsey and hands him the whip. Apparently Solomon is not whipping to Edwin’s expectations, so Edwin holds a gun up to Solomon’s head. This is enough to scare Solomon into whipping Patsey harder. Even this isn’t enough for Edwin as he takes the whip back to finish the job himself and when this is done Patsey’s back is nothing but scars and blood.

            I consider this to be one of the most important scenes in Twelve Years A Slave. Solomon was born free man, not a slave, so this entire experience is overwhelmingly scaring for him. This scene is one of the most scaring experiences due to the fact that Solomon is friends with Patsey and he knows how it feels to be whipped. Having him whip Patsey takes slavery to a whole new level in the character’s eyes as well as the viewer’s. The fact that Edwin cannot whip Patsey shows his guilt and portrays his true feelings toward her. Patsey can still trust Solomon and consider him a friend after this shows just how close they were to begin with. All in all, this scene is integral to the film and depicts a distinct feeling of slavery and regret.