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ABSTRACT
The Twelve Years a Slave，a movie which takes the individual as an angel，showing the dirtiest history and a painful memory in America. But usually we can see the beauty of human nature which is shining in the deep dark. It is the carrier of social culture，reflecting different cultural phenomena，and plays an important role in showing the aspects of American ideology and American culture，and which also reflects American social culture and values. People will never give up realizing the pursuit and yearning for freedom，the spirit of boldness and lasting qualities not only belongs to American，but also belongs to other countries all around the world，because that is the commonplace in character for all humanity. Analyzed the cultural factors of this film，we can understand the American society，culture and spirit deeply.
Keywords：The Twelve Years a Slave，American culture，cultural factors
The movie Twelve Years a Slave directed by Steve McQueen won the 86th Oscar Award. This movie takes the individual as an angel，showing the dirtiest history and a painful memory in America. But usually we can see the beauty of human nature which is shining in the deep dark. Under the pressure of power politics，still there is a fighter who never give up getting the freedom and love，reeking the great light of human nature. It is very meaningful that the protagonist comes back after going through many strange adventures in the end. The Twelve Years a Slave is the carrier of social culture，reflecting different cultural phenomena，it plays an important role in showing the aspects of American ideology and American culture，and which also reflects American social culture and values. Analyzed the cultural factors of this film，we can understand the American society，culture and spirit deeply.
About the letter. There are two functions of “a letter from afar”，one is to convey or express one’s tender feeling，another is to deliver message. Many close-up shots about letter in The Twelve Years a Slave appear，giving a good intention. While the letter is the only hope for Solomon in this film，because the letter can make him change his destiny，and only in this way can he be saved and becomes free. At the same time，letters promoted the story plots to develop fluently，which is closely relevant to the protagonist’s fate of life and death，making the whole story develops in the way of up and down. Solomon has ever wrongly believed a white man Armsby，and he asked help from Armsby for delivering a letter to his hometown. As a result，this letter almost made Solomon lost his life. About the name. The name in the film has the meaning of symbolization. In American history，the early slaves’ names were given by white masters. The white master names for the new black slaves who were bought. “The reason why the white master do this is that not only can they recognize the black slaves，but also demean them so as to build up absolute authority as the white masters”. At the end of Twelve Years a Slave，Solomon who was in torment got aids finally，who said out his own name and his family’s name in the presence of sheriff，as well as he certified his status. With the return of his name，his free identification was also a sort of regression. For the blacks，name is the identification，connecting with ancestor，on account of possessing his own name means that he is a free agent.
This movie distinctly applied fine visual language，by the woman body’s blood and wound，and described that the weaker sustained traumatic experience under the oppression of power politics，showing “the human body’s scar” for human being，which was hard to heal in western barbaric society.
Everyone should be a man of strong will and advocate personal freedom and dignity. Everyone should oppose the power which can cause invasion to himself or herself. Only if we have firm beliefs and persistent pursuit of freedom，will we be free someday. This kind of dream and desire can not be destroyed by any systems or institutions，even any people. This film told us that as long as people have a dream，which can become a driving force for future；as long as people try their best to strive for what they want，they can become succeed.
About music and dance. Music is the symbol of a nation，as well as one of the cultural presentation forms. In The Twelve Years a Slave，a black slave was dead because of overwork for picking up much cotton. Many people stood at her grave and chorused the song “Roll Jordan Roll”，in the Bible，“Jordan” is a place where many miracle occurred，hence it is called the sacred river. Therefore，this song was full of rich religion. The lyric was “roll，Jordan，roll；my soul will rise in the heave，Lord…”. While the black slaves were cherishing the memory of their peer，they were crying for the unfair in their inner heart and being positive about their future. For America，a big religious country，Christian music is one part of the significant culture. “There is no national boundary for music，this Christian song is classical enough to resonate with human beings”. The Twelve Years a Slave belongs to a movie about history，but it admits the historical fact and propagandizes the equality between white people and black. The slavery in America was not reasonable，while it indeed existed objectively in American history. On account of the freedom has been ever lost，people would appreciate what they have now. With the social development of America，people are going to understand the true cultural connotation and to be keenly aware the American spirit. Never give up realizing the pursuit and yearning for freedom，the spirit of boldness and lasting qualities not only belongs to American，but also belongs to the world wide people. Because that is the commonplace in character for all humanity.
Works Cited
[1]Solomon Northup. Twelve Years a Slave[M]. Dover Publications，April 6，2000
[2]孟金艷. 浅析《为奴十二年》中的美国基督文化[J]. 黑龙江史志，2014，（11）：245.
[3]史卫东.美国黑人更名史的文化解读[J].河南教育学院学报（哲学社会科学版），2008，（6）：125.
作者简介
谢如月（1992-），女，汉族，山东德州人，文学硕士，单位：云南大学外国语学院英语语言文学专业硕士2016级研究生，研究方向：系统功能语言学。
（作者单位：云南大学外国语学院）
The Twelve Years a Slave，a movie which takes the individual as an angel，showing the dirtiest history and a painful memory in America. But usually we can see the beauty of human nature which is shining in the deep dark. It is the carrier of social culture，reflecting different cultural phenomena，and plays an important role in showing the aspects of American ideology and American culture，and which also reflects American social culture and values. People will never give up realizing the pursuit and yearning for freedom，the spirit of boldness and lasting qualities not only belongs to American，but also belongs to other countries all around the world，because that is the commonplace in character for all humanity. Analyzed the cultural factors of this film，we can understand the American society，culture and spirit deeply.
Keywords：The Twelve Years a Slave，American culture，cultural factors
The movie Twelve Years a Slave directed by Steve McQueen won the 86th Oscar Award. This movie takes the individual as an angel，showing the dirtiest history and a painful memory in America. But usually we can see the beauty of human nature which is shining in the deep dark. Under the pressure of power politics，still there is a fighter who never give up getting the freedom and love，reeking the great light of human nature. It is very meaningful that the protagonist comes back after going through many strange adventures in the end. The Twelve Years a Slave is the carrier of social culture，reflecting different cultural phenomena，it plays an important role in showing the aspects of American ideology and American culture，and which also reflects American social culture and values. Analyzed the cultural factors of this film，we can understand the American society，culture and spirit deeply.
About the letter. There are two functions of “a letter from afar”，one is to convey or express one’s tender feeling，another is to deliver message. Many close-up shots about letter in The Twelve Years a Slave appear，giving a good intention. While the letter is the only hope for Solomon in this film，because the letter can make him change his destiny，and only in this way can he be saved and becomes free. At the same time，letters promoted the story plots to develop fluently，which is closely relevant to the protagonist’s fate of life and death，making the whole story develops in the way of up and down. Solomon has ever wrongly believed a white man Armsby，and he asked help from Armsby for delivering a letter to his hometown. As a result，this letter almost made Solomon lost his life. About the name. The name in the film has the meaning of symbolization. In American history，the early slaves’ names were given by white masters. The white master names for the new black slaves who were bought. “The reason why the white master do this is that not only can they recognize the black slaves，but also demean them so as to build up absolute authority as the white masters”. At the end of Twelve Years a Slave，Solomon who was in torment got aids finally，who said out his own name and his family’s name in the presence of sheriff，as well as he certified his status. With the return of his name，his free identification was also a sort of regression. For the blacks，name is the identification，connecting with ancestor，on account of possessing his own name means that he is a free agent.
This movie distinctly applied fine visual language，by the woman body’s blood and wound，and described that the weaker sustained traumatic experience under the oppression of power politics，showing “the human body’s scar” for human being，which was hard to heal in western barbaric society.
Everyone should be a man of strong will and advocate personal freedom and dignity. Everyone should oppose the power which can cause invasion to himself or herself. Only if we have firm beliefs and persistent pursuit of freedom，will we be free someday. This kind of dream and desire can not be destroyed by any systems or institutions，even any people. This film told us that as long as people have a dream，which can become a driving force for future；as long as people try their best to strive for what they want，they can become succeed.
About music and dance. Music is the symbol of a nation，as well as one of the cultural presentation forms. In The Twelve Years a Slave，a black slave was dead because of overwork for picking up much cotton. Many people stood at her grave and chorused the song “Roll Jordan Roll”，in the Bible，“Jordan” is a place where many miracle occurred，hence it is called the sacred river. Therefore，this song was full of rich religion. The lyric was “roll，Jordan，roll；my soul will rise in the heave，Lord…”. While the black slaves were cherishing the memory of their peer，they were crying for the unfair in their inner heart and being positive about their future. For America，a big religious country，Christian music is one part of the significant culture. “There is no national boundary for music，this Christian song is classical enough to resonate with human beings”. The Twelve Years a Slave belongs to a movie about history，but it admits the historical fact and propagandizes the equality between white people and black. The slavery in America was not reasonable，while it indeed existed objectively in American history. On account of the freedom has been ever lost，people would appreciate what they have now. With the social development of America，people are going to understand the true cultural connotation and to be keenly aware the American spirit. Never give up realizing the pursuit and yearning for freedom，the spirit of boldness and lasting qualities not only belongs to American，but also belongs to the world wide people. Because that is the commonplace in character for all humanity.
Works Cited
[1]Solomon Northup. Twelve Years a Slave[M]. Dover Publications，April 6，2000
[2]孟金艷. 浅析《为奴十二年》中的美国基督文化[J]. 黑龙江史志，2014，（11）：245.
[3]史卫东.美国黑人更名史的文化解读[J].河南教育学院学报（哲学社会科学版），2008，（6）：125.
作者简介
谢如月（1992-），女，汉族，山东德州人，文学硕士，单位：云南大学外国语学院英语语言文学专业硕士2016级研究生，研究方向：系统功能语言学。
（作者单位：云南大学外国语学院）