A couple of days ago I went to the cinema to see the film '12 Years a Slave'. It's not a movie for the squeamish, though by today's film and TV standards of what is acceptable when it comes to screening violence, it would no doubt be 'mild' for some. I had been reading the book, so knew the story and something of what to expect.
The film moved me quite considerably and it is taking time for me to figure out what I made of it; what I can say about it; what I can do about it. The film is a portrayal of immense cruelty; another tale of what man is capable of doing to his fellow man. The scenes of physical violence were hard to see, but one of the scenes to stick in my mind is a silent scene where Solomon's face is the only thing pictured. There is no dialogue nor commentary; just his face and the viewer's ideas of what goes on in a man's head when he contemplates his present position as a slave and a future too horrific to imagine.
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There is a lot more I could say, and some critics have said the film opens up yet again the whole issues around a very painful subject. For me it is a reminder of what can happen when we stop seeing others as fellow humans; when we, for whatever reason, look down on someone or consider ourselves superior; when we forget our own humanity.
On a visit to a genocide memorial site in Rwanda I was struck by some words left there - in a place where several thousand people died - it goes something like this - 'if you had known me . . . . . you would not have killed me'. It's all down to what we mean by 'knowing' I suppose - but surely if we knew each other as God's creation; as God's children; as equals; it would affect how we treat one another?
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