Confronting Race Head-on in 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013): Redefining the Contours of the Classic Biopic?

In his successful 2013 cinematic release 12 Years a Slave, Steve McQueen circumvents the “great white narrative” by addressing race “head-on” instead of metaphorically, writing every character within their own racial background. As in Solomon Northup’s 1853 Twelve Years a Slave, black characters are...

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Main Author: Anne-Marie Paquet-Deyris
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Association Française d'Etudes Américaines 2019-09-01
Series:Transatlantica
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/11593
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author Anne-Marie Paquet-Deyris
author_facet Anne-Marie Paquet-Deyris
author_sort Anne-Marie Paquet-Deyris
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description In his successful 2013 cinematic release 12 Years a Slave, Steve McQueen circumvents the “great white narrative” by addressing race “head-on” instead of metaphorically, writing every character within their own racial background. As in Solomon Northup’s 1853 Twelve Years a Slave, black characters are not removed from their own histories; instead, they are shaped and defined by them. To what extent, then, does the film distinctly voice racial concerns and tensions, and provide representational spaces on screen in a nuanced and reflective manner? How does it—if indeed it does—subvert the standard black slave/character and white master/hero dynamic, and embrace a wide variety of black stories and perspectives? By reconsidering the classic biopic/historical film, this article examines how the movie relocates America’s problems with race at the very heart of the national debate and offers a “post-post-racial” screen model that directly confronts race history.
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spelling doaj-art-0d9a667c3bae43f0af2547f57ca8e1342025-01-30T10:46:26ZengAssociation Française d'Etudes AméricainesTransatlantica1765-27662019-09-01110.4000/transatlantica.11593Confronting Race Head-on in 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013): Redefining the Contours of the Classic Biopic?Anne-Marie Paquet-DeyrisIn his successful 2013 cinematic release 12 Years a Slave, Steve McQueen circumvents the “great white narrative” by addressing race “head-on” instead of metaphorically, writing every character within their own racial background. As in Solomon Northup’s 1853 Twelve Years a Slave, black characters are not removed from their own histories; instead, they are shaped and defined by them. To what extent, then, does the film distinctly voice racial concerns and tensions, and provide representational spaces on screen in a nuanced and reflective manner? How does it—if indeed it does—subvert the standard black slave/character and white master/hero dynamic, and embrace a wide variety of black stories and perspectives? By reconsidering the classic biopic/historical film, this article examines how the movie relocates America’s problems with race at the very heart of the national debate and offers a “post-post-racial” screen model that directly confronts race history.https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/11593slaveryraceslave narrative12 Years a SlaveSteve McQueen
spellingShingle Anne-Marie Paquet-Deyris
Confronting Race Head-on in 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013): Redefining the Contours of the Classic Biopic?
Transatlantica
slavery
race
slave narrative
12 Years a Slave
Steve McQueen
title Confronting Race Head-on in 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013): Redefining the Contours of the Classic Biopic?
title_full Confronting Race Head-on in 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013): Redefining the Contours of the Classic Biopic?
title_fullStr Confronting Race Head-on in 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013): Redefining the Contours of the Classic Biopic?
title_full_unstemmed Confronting Race Head-on in 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013): Redefining the Contours of the Classic Biopic?
title_short Confronting Race Head-on in 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013): Redefining the Contours of the Classic Biopic?
title_sort confronting race head on in 12 years a slave steve mcqueen 2013 redefining the contours of the classic biopic
topic slavery
race
slave narrative
12 Years a Slave
Steve McQueen
url https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/11593
work_keys_str_mv AT annemariepaquetdeyris confrontingraceheadonin12yearsaslavestevemcqueen2013redefiningthecontoursoftheclassicbiopic