Saw the much heralded 12 Years A Slave. Those Southerners were certainly psychotic; lacking any emapthy whatsoever. What Brad Pitt said to Christian Bale was pertinent and powerful. Benedict Cumberbatch was the more sanitised version of slave owning, who was in awe of Solomon's violin playing prowess. Solomon was an educated man at odds with his plight; his spirit did not falter.
Physical, sexual humiliation was a reflex action..there was regular castigation, getting in trouble for things they didn't do. They were ordered to hit each other; and you can't hit your kindred. The slave owners were shown to be tormented characters, supposedly holding up scriptures to subjugate those different from them. Solomon eloquently and earnestly spoke of his 'unspeakable happiness' to be reunited with his estranged family.

There was a piece on Steve McQueen last night but Mark Kermode was irksome as ever; trying to make himself look the clever one, so better off watching Benidorm. But 12 Years is more than a film; it's a starting point for dialogue, it's a stark reminder of a heritage and subconsciousness seared and scarred shamefully by the pain of slavery.