It cant be easy recreating the antebellum south, but 12 Years A Slave does an impeccable job at doing so. Shot on location in Louisiana, there are a lot of visual motifs to replicate from buildings to cotton fields to the plantations themselves surrounded by dirty moss filled trees. Furthermore, a plethora of extras and actors have to be hired to help accentuate the authenticity of what is transpiring on screen. It also cannot be easy to find extras willing to just voluntarily partake in these degrading acts, but its a necessary evil for crafting a memorable period piece. Whether were watching the slaves pick cotton, build wooden structures, receive whippings against trees, and much more, its all shot with striking realism.