Letters: ’12 Years’ and the hard truth about slavery

Re “For many, too raw a picture,” Feb. 27

Race and racism together remain the unadorned 900-pound entity in the corner of the room in the United States, and there are more slaves in the world today than ever before, as “12 Years a Slave” director Steve McQueen has so eloquently acknowledged.

When I served as board president of the Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking, one difficulty we had was convincing people that modern-day slavery exists in the United States, despite evidence including statistics and heart-rending personal accounts, most of which were delivered by people of color.

Our sense of history in the United States seems to extend back to the last 10 minutes. Films such as “12 Years a Slave” underscore a part of American history that needs to be owned up to so modern-day slavery can be eradicated.

Julie M. Thompson

Santa Monica

The writer was an executive producer of the 2013 film “Nebraska.”

I didn’t think I could sit through “12 Years a Slave” for the same reason I initially avoided “The Cove” and “Blackfish”: The cruelty and inhumanity of man are difficult to witness.

But we must remember that there is beauty in the telling that can uplift us and be life-affirming. McQueen’s film is so artfully rendered that at times I felt I was watching a poem, if such a thing is possible.

Contrary to popular belief, a film’s sole purpose is not merely to entertain. It is also to move us, shake us, awaken things inside us we didn’t know were there — and in so doing raise the bar on what we expect of life and of one another.

Any serious filmgoer owes it to himself or herself to see noteworthy films; a movie that successfully and artistically tackles such a challenging subject deserves to be watched.

Eileen Flaxman

Sherman Oaks

Kudos to Betsy Sharkey for her brave and honest piece on Americans’ fear of a difficult film like “12 Years a Slave.”

As an African American woman and history teacher of 42 years, it shocks and saddens me that blacks and whites are so reluctant to see this heartbreaking film. Black human beings lived this centuries-long nightmare, during which millions of Africans were kidnapped from their continent.

And yet many of us can’t give up two hours simply to watch a great portrayal of this madness. What is wrong with us?

Peggy M. Spates-Johnson

San Diego

We are silent because we feel complicit, recognizing what sacrifice is required to struggle against an unjust economic, political or social system once it becomes the law of the land. Whether in the United States in the

19th century or Germany in the 20th century, only a small number of people braved imprisonment or death for themselves or their families. In both centuries it required war to destroy the systems.

Every system that becomes the law of the land will demand obedience.

In the U.S. today, are we turning a blind eye to our president’s ability to assassinate individuals— including American citizens, using drones — or to the system of indefinite detention without charge or trial?

Doris Isolini Nelson

Los Angeles

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