Slavery Use in Media

While FWP gives readers the chance to get acquainted with slave narratives, Gilroy's focus shifts more on how Slavery affected their identities and belonging to a certain culture. However, Gilroy's theory can not be fully used in relation to 12 Years a Slave; nevertheless, it is a good starting point from a psychological aspect. As Nowakoski puts it - “slavery in the West is first and foremost a shared experience of “terror” that lies at the heart of black diasporic communities all across the Atlantic. It is in some sense the root cause of transnational black identity.” Everything previously discussed and presented should allow students to understand that valid research and interviews are needed in relation to films such as 12 Years a Slave to make it more factual or, on the contrary, show the relevance of a specific cultural object. These three sources, in particular, break the existing generalized assumptions about America, Slavery, and the Black Body. For one, many try to say that it is entirely America's fault; however, enslaved people are the base of what we now live in. If we say that America is bad, we also have to say that we are bad because we consume the products enslaved people worked for. Christopher Lehman explains it very easily – slaves who worked in the South provided the North with money and goods to build the city (TEDx Talks 00:02:50 – 00:03:00).2 And it is important to understand that it did not end when Slavery ended, the economy continued expanding. And lastly, using emotional tactics leads to the monetization of Slavery. Since it is less factual, Steve Mcqueen uses the emotional element to gain wealth from people coming in to watch the movie.…