It’s been argued by many that 12 Years A Slave is one of the best movies of 2013, but not everyone agrees with that.
It turns out the family of slave owner, William Ford is outraged as to how their great grandfather was depicted in the film, and believe his kindness was left out of the story.
The great grandson of Ford, Marcus Ford, was tracked down by The Daily Mail, where he described his feelings towards the gruesome movie.
He told the outlet:
‘By all accounts, my great-great-grandfather treated his slaves well and did his best for them.
‘He was born at a particular time in history when slavery was accepted throughout the South.
‘It wasn’t illegal. That doesn’t make it right or moral by today’s standards but back then it wasn’t an ethical issue. Northup saw him as a kindly person. He was a highly moral man.’
He also raises the point that ‘slaves were regarded as valuable pieces of property and that it wouldn’t be in an owner’s interest to treat his slaves badly’.
He continues:
‘Good field-hands had worth. They were valued. A skilled craftsman like Northup would have been valued. There might have been a few bad apples, but I don’t think there was widespread brutality.’
‘It was evil white folks beating on poor black folks and it’s not what Solomon Northup intended when he wrote his book,’ he said.
‘He thought Ford was a really good master. He was treated right and he was treated like family.’
Um… interesting…
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SOURCE: Daily Mail
