2) What was the impact of those changes? In what ways is the movie better or worse for them? How does it impact the audience and the audience’s understanding of the topic?
There are apparent variances between the book and the film in their depiction of various scenes. For example, the film portrays only one of the two explosive altercations Northup had with John M. Tibeats. The film addresses the incident where Tibeats and his crew gang up on Northup and beat him up before leaving him half-hanging until Ford, who is still his master, comes back to cut him loose and save him. However, upon reading the book, one realizes that this aspect is overdramatized because Tibeats and his goons tied him up and left him in the scorching sun. While this is still a harsh and inhumane punishment, it does not match the cruelty the film depicts in this scene. The film also fails to utilize this scene to demonstrate how slavery operated in those earlier times. Revisiting the scene, the film portrays master Ford’s act of saving Northup as a merciful act that happened by chance when he stumbled on the half-hanging slave.
