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I like the made-for-tv version of 12 Years a Slave better.

Posted by Joe (@joe) on Feb. 13, 2024, 10:05 p.m.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon_Northup%27s_Odyssey

https://tubitv.com/movies/572533/solomon-northup-s-odyssey

I’ve seen people bash it for being too tame in its depiction of slavery, which it had to be for early ’80s TV, and the historical details are probably alot further off, but I disliked the way that slave owners in 12 Years a Slave came off as a bunch of basketcases. I guess it’s comforting to know that the horrors of slavery weren’t perpetrated by otherwise normal people.

I also prefer the depiction of the slave community in Solomon Northrup’s Odyssey, and think that Gordon Parks’ direction is overall more appealing than Steve McQueen’s. I’d watch Solomon Northrop again, I’m not interested in rewatching 12 Years a Slave.

Nightjohn is another made-for-tv movie about slavery that I enjoyed and think deserves to be remembered:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117180/