The movie "Twelve Years a Slave" was based on the slave narrative written by Solomon Northup. His abduction as a free man, his resulting transformation into a slave and his detainment as a slave irreversibly altered the course of his life. Many aspects of the story highlighted in the movie are common themes in other slave narratives. This movie adaptation of the slave narrative highlighted many aspects of the slave narrative that stand out when depicted in film as opposed to in print. I felt that of all the slave narratives we have read to date, Solomon Northup's story is the best suited to the medium of film. His story starts in America, and as a free man. This appeals to film makers for a few reasons, one of which is the lack of middle passage or the home in Africa. Not having to film the middle passage helped the film makers avoid having to enlist too many people on serve on the set, and helped them be able to avoid filming in the difficult setting. This absence also effects the narrative by helping to emphasize the powerless black people had in America, even when free. emphasis on Solomon's unique origin is presented in a way that seems so ordinary, so routine, that it draws attention to his method of abduction. Because Solomon is unable to produce papers that prove he is a freed man, his assertions on his actual identity and his pleas for freedom are ignored. He is beaten to silence him, and is not even given a chance to produce his papers. This failure to see him as a real person even though he was a free man, highlights the racism at the time. I really enjoyed the importance placed on the fiddle. When he was a free man, Solomon played the violin as a profession, and it was a wonderful thing for him. Playing the violin allowed him to support his family, and it was something that made him special. After he was taken, his skill with the fiddle made him special, but only as a commodity. It made him worth more money when he was sold, and it allowed him to bring a part of his life as a free man into his life as Platt the slave. While serving as a tangible link to his freedom, it also served as an object reminding him of his humanity, while his humanity was stripped from him. It was also a tool that helped to dehumanize hi