Steve McQueen perfectly expressed the hypocritical prejudice against slaves – because black people are held in slavery, they must have done something wrong to deserve this and they deserve to be treated as inferior human beings. This arrogant belief was particularly illustrated by Mistress Epps' treatment of Patsey as she threw a heavy vase directly at her head without regard for her slave's safety. To help fully convey that this is just a racial issue, Bass (played by Brad Pitt) and another white slave are given special leniency for their own flaws. When white slaves did not harvest as much cotton, they were not taken outside to be whipped by black slaves. This applies to the entire modern criminal justice system: when a white person and a black person commit the same crime, black people are disproportionately incarcerated for their crimes. Despite the unfair treatment of black people by those in power (usually white people), not all white people choose to ignore it. When Solomon told Bass his story of kidnapping, forced slavery, and the new identity he had to assume, he worked to help Solomon regain his freedom. Bass is the kind of person that 12 Years a Slave director Steve McQueen encouraged people to become. His hopes for today's world are that more people will take inspiration from Bass and not Master and Mistress Epps, supporting an end to the continuation of slavery - ending the unjust and systematic incarceration of