Being a 29 year old in the year 2013, it's amazing how educated someone like myself can be about the past yet still not truly appreciate the horrifying truth of what took place. I am baffled to this day over the ongoing debates of human rights, topics like marriage equality, gender equality and racism. It all seems so obvious and simple to me, that each and every person on this Earth deserves fair and equal treatment, and when asked why I believe this my answer is simple: Why not? Why should I stop people from being happy, from living a fulfilling, meaningful life, from accomplishing their dreams and feeling whole? How dare anyone think they should be able to stop two people of the same gender from expressing their love for each other, or to call someone a racial slur and talk to them as if they are superior due to the color of their skin they were born into this world with.

Obviously, I know slavery was, unfortunately, an all too real disgraceful stain that will never be wiped clean from the history of my country, but I never really think too deeply into the topic. It isn't that I don't care, it's just the way the mind works, I worry about things that personally effect me and my family, and I can't fully appreciate nor understand what life was like during a time I did not exist in. Twelve Years a Slave is such a powerful, accomplished piece of filmmaking that despite showing us events that we all know happened, it still manages to be eye opening and alarming as if I was blind to the level of awfulness until now.

This is actually my debut voyage into the work of director Steve McQueen, and I know now that I must go back and wrap my mind around his previous work to fully appreciate how gifted he is behind the camera. Twelve Years a Slave is crafted beautifully, forcing my eyes to stay glued to the screen despite the images being portrayed not painting such an appealing picture of human nature. It's a brutal film, it's a film that's hard to enjoy on a simple entertainment level, but it feels so important and honest that it absolutely must be watched by as many people as possible.

Tom Hanks was fantastic in the film Captain Phillips, but watching the work of Chiwetel Ejiofor, I knew I was seeing the first performance of the year that would actually anger me if it weren't honored with a nomination from the Academy. He isn't alone, as every single person that appears during this film does fantastic work, but Ejiofor in the lead role as Soloman Northup is devastating, screen stealing stuff throughout.

As I experienced Twelve Years a Slave, I couldn't help but think about the countless amount of victims of this period of time in our history. The fact that people felt entitled to treat other human beings in that fashion is unthinkable and disgusting, but what might be even more fascinating is the spirit of those poor people who had to endure this level of treatment on a daily basis. I can't even imagine this being my one chance at living life, and I guarantee I would go to sleep each night and a part of me would wish I would never wake up. The fight and courage of people to live in that hell and dream of a seemingly unreachable freedom, it's unthinkable. Twelve Years a Slave made me spend a lot of time thinking about it though, something I believe I owe to those who dealt with or are still dealing with hate, violence and oppression to this day.