12 Years a Slave was a brilliant film adaptation of the autobiography of a free black man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery. The film chronicles the experiences of Solomon Northup of Saratoga, New York, who after a series of unfortunate events finds himself in the trap of slavery. While most films today thrive on providing a positive emotional response from the audience, 12 Years a Slave is a deviation from the norm in that it elicits none of these responses from its audience. The dark and grim issue of kidnapping and slavery is a sensitive topic to work with in Hollywood, and many directors would have censored or watered down this content. However, Steve McQueen does a fantastic job of portraying the relentless brutality of slavery, Northup's quiet stoicism as everything he knows is taken away from him, and the learned helplessness of the other slaves. Early in the film, the tone of almost relentless brutality is set. In the hands of many directors today (Michael Bay and Quentin Tarantino come to mind), violence becomes almost cartoonish and serves to desensitize the audience....