12 Years A Slave

This movie is based on the true story of Solomon Northup, a man born in upstate New York and raised as a free man whom was later kidnapped and drugged then sold into slavery.  Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as Solomon and portrays Solomon as scared, smart and strong.

I can't even imagine the fear and loneliness from being taken from your family (in this case, his wife and two children) and thrust into a world where you property instead of a person.

This is an amazing story that in my humble opinion, more accurately depicts the plight of the black man in our nation's history than Django Unchained and The Butler combined.  This movie has "stars" (Brad Pitt, Paul Giamatti, etc.) but the story is strong enough that you may recognize an actor but it doesn't pull your attention away from the movie.  Speaking of Brad Pitt, that was the only negative thing in this movie as it felt like he was there to lecture rather than to be a real character in the movie.  I did like his message though.

There are a few graphic violent scenes but everyone from high school age and above should see this movie and learn from it.  There is no good reason for slavery to ever have existed and oppression still goes on today.

I give this two thumbs up to recognize our need to celebrate our differences and respect that each one of us are unique individuals who deserve to be treated equally no matter the difference in race, creed, gender or sexual orientation.