12 Years a Slave - Audiences and Institutions

INSTITUTIONS:

12 Years a Slave was directed by Steve McQueen who is also known for directing Shame and Hunger. Seven people were given title of producer for this film including Brad Pitt and Dede Gardner. The movie was distributed by Fox Searchlight and Entertainment One to the UK, US, Canada, Spain, Australia/New Zealand. Other companies such as Regency, Plan B, Film 4 and River Road Entertainment were involved in funding the film's production. Entertainment One were also involved in the distribution of The Hunger Games and Divergent.

12 Years a Slave made over £6.5M on its official (wide) opening weekend and a worldwide lifetime profit of $187.7M. AUDIENCE:

12 Years a Slave attracts a mature audience of both genders, particularly those interested in matters of the world such as racist discrimination. You could argue that because of this films focus on slavery and black discrimination, a black audience is targeted. The MPAA rating for this film is R (restricted) meaning watching if under 17 year old requires an adult to accompany. This will help to attract an adult audience prepared for this films hard-hitting content.

The film is based on true events and is based on the book written by the main character Solomon Northup which makes this film appeal to the target audience who are interested in matters of the world. Being told a film is based around real events will help an audience to understand the severity of the plot and makes it hit harder. 12 Years a Slave was very positively reviewed with critics such as Rolling Stone, The Guardian and New York Times giving it 5 stars. I completely agree with the critic reviews as this for me was a film with an impact that told a true and heavy-hitting story. 

The Guardian - Paul MacInnes

Rolling Stone

GENRE AND CONVENTIONS: This movie fits into the Drama genre.  12 Years is very typical of this genre as it explores dramatic themes such as racial prejudice. Audiences of drama films expect complex, comprehensive storylines with detailed characters and talented acting. Drama audiences do not always expect a positive narrative conclusion as some stories conclude with loose ends unexplained or unresolved. Nearly all of these conventions are present in 12 Years, particularly the non-conclusive ending in which the audience is informed of the mysterious circumstances of Solomon's death. Another film that is similar is The Kings Speech for it shares a lot of conventions much like The Imitation game which focus on other dramatic themes such as sexuality. Both of these movies, like 12 Years, are based on real events and follow similar narrative structures. 

  REPRESENTATIONS: The main characters in 12 Years a Slave are black, African-American slaves. They are portrayed as innocent victims of the slave trade which in turn portrays white Americans as violent slave owners. The film is set in mid-1800's America, a time where black people were heavily discriminated against and often bought and sold as slaves. While the film represents some of America to be accepting of black people (the Freemen), it does portray a violent place and time for African-Americans. These representations, in my opinion, are positive because they emphasise the inhumanity of white Americans at the time and encourage people to feel sympathetic towards the many black people who were enslaved. The innocent representation of black Americans is also important as it allows the audience to see how they were so badly treated. 

The message this movie conveys is important as, not only is it educational to those who are unaware of how bad the slave trade was, but to encourage others to be accepting of different types of people.