Hawkins- 12 Years a Slave

12 Years a Slave shines light on the horrors of slavery in a more realistic way than ever produced before. As the camera focuses for multiple seconds on the boat sailing away in the early middle of the story, the audience is forced to feel the disaster cast upon the slaves. This act of prolonging the clip creates a serious atmosphere to reinforce the importance of the scene. The camera also plays a big role in informing the audiences attention of the powerful topics at hand during the whipping scenes. As Patsey is being beaten by Platt and then by her master, the camera zooms in on the gruesome wounds and the agony in her face. Camera angle plays a large role in 12 Years a Slave as it helps the audience feel more realistically the struggle that slaves were forced to endure.