25 movies with The Last Jedi actors you should definitely watch

12 Years a Slave (Lupita Nyong’o)

12 Years a Slave put Lupita Nyong’o on the map for all of us. Or at least it won her an Academy Award. Her Oscar-winning role of Patsey made it clear that Lupita was not someone to sleep on. While the movie was pretty revolutionary for a lot of careers, it threw Lupita into the spotlight.

The movie follows the true story of Solomon Northup, a free black man who was forced into slavery by people who did not like some of his viewpoints in the north. For 12 years he struggled to return to his family and through countless owners, Solomon never lost sight of what was important to him.

Along his journey, he meets people like Patsey who are struggling with the only life they’ve ever known. Solomon knows what the taste of freedom is but women like Patsey have only known slavery.

It isn’t exactly easy to watch but it is a necessary part of our history to understand. This country is extremely flawed and 12 Years a Slave is unapologetically truthful about America’s past and doesn’t shy away from this true story of one man’s struggle to return to his family. Truly, a movie everyone should see at some point in their lives.