Sure, almost all of us have been informed about the cruelties of slavery. All of us have been told of the horrors. All of us have acknowledged the tremendous things one human have done to one another. But not a single person alive today has been able to experience and fully understand WHY it must have been horrible. Films and novels like this are one of the few sources we can use to get as close as we can to this full understanding. Many cannot even comprehend what society as a whole was like during the era of slavery. 12 Years a Slave paints a broad spectrum of the current society in America at the time. It touches on the mentality of these people and allows us to see why the people are doing what they're doing. Not just scratching our head like the common person saying "Why would you do such a horrible thing." Although enslaving the blacks is not likely to occur ever again in America, this film is necessary in understanding not to make similar mistakes and not to fall into the wrong mentality based on personal bias. Seeing things level headed such as Bass and Solomon do is an important skill that can be learned after careful analysis of this movie and similar movies.