12 Years a Slave - What Price Freedom?

I don’t get to watch many films, probably no more than a handful a year, but with a couple of hours to spare on a recent trip I took the opportunity to see '12 Years a Slave', the Osar winning film based on the book written by Solomon Northup, who was kidnapped and sold into slavery, until his escape 12 years later.
Powerful? Certainly. Enjoyable? Not in the least. The best description would probably be deeply disturbing, and not for the reasons one might expect.
Whilst watching the film the words that most readily came to mind were oppression, humiliation and …. collusion.
There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that to enslave someone is profoundly wrong and an insult to the human race, but let’s not kid ourselves that all is well within our cosy 21^st century democratic world, where on the surface at least we all aim to be treated as equals. I only wish this were the case.
In many countries around the world slavery still exists, even if it does not take the despicable form of black men and women being called niggers. A phrase that stuck out in the film was when one of the plantation owners said ‘A man may do as he pleases with his own property.’ It seems unreal that in this day and age men and women are still born into servitude with little hope of ever knowing the dignity of freedom. I can only begin to imagine what it must be like to wake up every single day and to be at someone else’s beck and call, half starved to death and beaten for the privilege.
However, now as then, in the majority of cases it is almost impossible to be able to enslave someone without some level of collusion. This was borne out in the film, where in fear of their own lives the slaves would jockey for position, doing the master’s bidding in order to survive. Survival is one of the most basic instincts, but when in order to do so we ourselves are coerced into behaving in a less than human way, we become worse than animals. In the case of Hitler, much reviled throughout history, he could not have achieved what he did were it not for the fact that others were willing to do his bidding.
From time to time, thankfully not very frequently, we see in our own media accounts of people often, but not exclusively women, who have been kidnapped and kept in slavery for many years.
Even in so called 'normal' domestic situations constant name calling and derogatory remarks can soon lead to increased efforts to belittle someone. I often listen to the long running series, The Archers, on BBC Radio 4, and in the relationship between Helen Archer and Rob Titchner one can see all the signs of a very unhealthy relationship where, in an effort to make her dream of a perfect man a reality, she is prepared to forgive and make excuses for his behaviour. Trust me, it will only end in tears. The Samaritans deal with callers stuck in situations like this every day.
It is only by keeping our eyes and ears open that we will have any hope of ensuring that all of us within our society remain safe and able to live without fear.