Diector Steve McQueen

You flocked out in droves to see Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, the FAKE American slavery movie written and directed by a white filmmaker where the N-word is used 213 times. Will you do the same for a REAL American slavery movie written and directed by black men, based on the autobiography by an actual African American slave? That’s the question that critically acclaimed black filmmaker Steve McQueen (pictured above) will be pondering once his new film “12 Years a Slave” is released on October 18th.

12 years a slave book coverStarring Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Paul Giamatti, Michael K. Williams (Omar in The Wire) and one of the best young black actors on the scene right now, Chiwetel Ejiofor, the film chronicles the real life of Solomon Northup, a free man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery. You can pretty much guess the rest from the title. Shortly before the Civil War, Northup published his memoirs of the ordeal and it became a bestseller in the country racking in over 30,000 copies. He even went on to sue some of the slave owners who bought and sold him.

To this day, I haven’t seen Tarantino’s Django Unchained because I felt a little weird seeing an action/comedy about American slavery made by a pretentious white guy who is obsessed with the word “Nigger” when there were so few “real” slavery movies out there (unlike films about The Holocaust) by black filmmakers. As if my request was granted, here’s a rare dramatic film written, directed and starring black men based on a book by an actual slave. There’s no way I’m missing this.

So, back to the original question. Will you do the same and support this important film? Is American slavery too much of a downer for the masses unless it’s blended with action and over-the-top performances by Jamie Foxx and Leonardo DiCaprio? And yes, I’m shaming you in an attempt to raise support for this film. Check out the trailer if you need more convincing: