Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property
Narrative of the Film
The film focuses on slavery in the U.S. with emphasis on Nat Turner and the actions carried out by his revolt. Turner enlists slaves who murder white people of all genders and ages. Turner and his militia kill children and women. The murders committed in the rebellion not only lead to the death of white people but the death of slaves. Black people are hung and sold as slaves in different states. Slavery is at the center of the revolt instigated by Turner. As black people view Turner as a hero whose efforts are towards the abolition of slavery, the whites view him as a fanatic keen on killing white people. A group of black rebels goes on a mission of killing every white person door to door in a quest for anti-slavery agenda (“3C Media Solutions”). The film is centered on the abolition efforts of Turner as regards the radical approach taken. The authenticity of the confessions made while in prison, as recounted by his lawyer, is also focused on.
Most Provocative Moment
Most of the rebels were taken to court where sentencing included hanging and selling as slaves in various slave states. Turner, however, remained elusive though he was finally arrested. Turner also likens himself to Jesus as he sees himself as the savior of the slaves. He also attributes his revolt to a calling by God to liberate his people. His likeness to a savior is, however, contradictory to the approach taken. Though deemed as a hero by black people, he is considered a fanatic and villain by white people. His relation to a white teenage girl is also provocative. The anti-slavery hero goes ahead and forges a relationship with Margaret, a white woman (“3C Media Solutions”), which goes against everything the revolt is about.
Relation to Reading Assignments for the Week
Slavery in the South was prominent due to the cotton plantations that required consistent labor. Cotton, unlike other crops such as rice and tobacco, was the main cash crop grown in the South (Cotton is King: The Antebellum South, 1800–1860, p330). In this regard, the abolition of slavery would have had a significant impact on the economic status of the South. Its large scale cotton farming not only had an economic impact on the South but on the entire country as well. Abolition would thus mean that cheap labor would no longer be available affecting cotton farming. Over four million people worked as slaves in the slave states (Cobbs et al.p358). Abolition, therefore, meant losing a significant workforce. The anti-slavery narrative in the North further jeopardized slavery in the South. Secession was deemed as the solution by the South to preserve the slavery narrative.
Question conjured up by the film
Questions come to mind as regards Turner’s relationship with Margaret. The motivation behind the relationship as regards to love or vengeance comes to mind. Turner eventually kills Margaret (“3C Media Solutions”), eliciting the question of whether he was with Margaret out of spite and revenge. The authenticity of Turner’s confessions also comes to play. The confessions are as narrated by Gray Turner’s lawyer. An account of Turner’s life is also based on the recounts of different people. It, therefore, raises the truth and facts question of the statements given. It is interesting to note that his image is also questionable as it rides on the accounts of different people. In this regard, no one knows the accurate account of Turner’s life, his arrest, and eventual hanging.
Works Cited
“3C Media Solutions”. 3Cmediasolutions.Org,
https://www.3cmediasolutions.org/privid/20102?key=8d618c288df2ff94f435a151dfacc6a246460bc9. Accessed 5 May 2020.
Cobbs, Elizabeth et al. Major Problems In American History, Volume I To 1877. 3rd ed.,
Cengage Learning, 2012.
Cotton is King: The Antebellum South, 1800–1860
.