The Falsehoods of Freedom
By Zachary Carter, with comment by Ed Tabor
[1] Slavery is a terrible institution that has existed in many different forms and places but has always robbed an individual or his or her humanity. In The Last Supper (1976), the Count, who owns and operates the plantation, recreates the last supper Christ holds with his disciples; in their place are several randomly selected slaves. The Count tries to act like Christ and bestow joy and happiness upon these lucky slaves. He allows one slave to move from working at the mill and return to working as the Master’s servant. He listens to one slave’s story in which he was a king and lived a life of royalty, and he watches another slave explain that when slaves are singing and dancing it is not for joy but out of sorrow. After all of this, an old man who has not been as cheerful slowly approaches the Count, seeing opportunity, and requests his freedom.
[2] The camera movements preceding this moment have been long and steady with slow zooming into characters when they enter monologues and zoom out to show the whole room. The room is darkly lit by candles, and a lot of focus is put on the Count as he is sitting at the head of the table and is the one directing conversation. However, the camera switches its focus to Pascual, the old slave, as he slowly makes his way to the head of the table. Pascual looks sad and hunched over, and refers to himself as “nigger†when talking to the Count. He is clearly beaten down and has accepted his place in life, as opposed to Sebastian who constantly rebels and fights the status quo. Pascual explains that he only has about a year left to live, cannot buy his freedom, and asks the Count to grant him his freedom. The Count rarely even looks at Pascual, but after hearing this question he looks concerned, thinks hard to himself, turns and looks Pascual up and down, and tells him that he is free. Pascual smiles in disbelief, kisses the Count’s hand, and grabs at his chest. The other slaves solemnly sing, “things are looking good now,†and the camera remains focused on Pascual who has turned to walk out. The shot does cut back to the Master who looks quite distressed, but then smiles and laughs to himself as he calls Pascual over to sit next to him.
[3] The singing fades at this point, and Pascual, who is overcome with emotion starts crying. He says he is happy to be free, but the Count asks him a few simple questions such as, “Where will you go? What will you do now? Will you stay at the mill? Do you like the mill?†In answer to these questions Pascual realizes that he has nowhere to go and nothing to do but stay at the mill even though he hates it. He begins to cry and the Count smiles as his point is proven. He exclaims to his disciples, “That’s what I wanted to explain. You can’t be happy although you’re free!†After this moment the Count tells a long story about how true happiness can only be attained through one’s sorrow. He explains that everyone should suffer all pain and cruelty patiently with joy thinking of Christ. This twisted explanation, which attempts to justify the institution of slavery, falls upon deaf ears who laugh after the Count’s long-winded explanation.
[4] This scene in which Pascual asks for his freedom is particularly interesting because it illustrates the evils of slavery very simply. Slaves who have been institutionalized and have accepted their place and fate have lost something essential about being human. They have spent their whole lives living with their families (if they are so fortunate) and a group of plantation workers, but have no one outside of the plantation. Therefore, they have nowhere to go unless they decide to lead a life on their own in a world in which mercy is not granted to black people. In America, a slave could try to escape to the North, but even there it was nearly impossible for them to make it on their own after living their whole lives as slaves. Slavery incapacitates individuals and does not allow them to do and be anything but a slave. The Count does show all of this through his simple questions and proves that freeing a slave does not mean that he is free. (see comment by Ed Tabor)
[5] In Sally Hemings: An American Scandal (2001), Sally’s brother James has his freedom but cannot exist in the world outside of the plantation and commits suicide. He is well equipped unlike Pascual, since he has an education, has traveled, can read and write, and has supporters who are trying to abolish slavery. Despite all of this, he cannot live his life off the plantation and prefers to kill himself rather than live such a life of despair.
[6] This scene in The Last Supper identifies how a slave’s humanity is robbed of him from simply living as a slave. Pascual, who is granted his freedom, realizes that it is worthless, and because of the way slavery operates, he is no freer than he was before he approached the Count. This only works to further the Count’s point about freedom not equating to happiness, but his twisted reasoning is far from the truth and only perpetuates the ideology of slavery as a just institution.
Comments
In a strange way the Count is correct in his logic, there is no true freedom. I am not condoning slavery; I am only commenting on this dilemma of human existence. Anton Chekhov once remarked that freedom is a terrible gift. Chekhov, who was the grandson of a serf and an advocate of freedom, understood the great responsibility that lies in freedom. In this film Pascual is placed in an incredibly difficult position. He is granted his freedom, but he has no where to go. Because of his age, he cannot even attempt the arduous journey to the nearest maroon camp, and he has no prospects in Havana. However, slavery doesn’t totally incapacitate a black individual. If he were a young man, the story would be different. We only need to look at Equiano’s Narrative to understand that a resourceful young black man can survive and even prosper in the white man’s world. Considering all of this, we can understand why the Count frees Pascual so readily. It is an opportunity for the Count to teach the young healthy slaves that freedom isn’t worth it. If he had given freedom to Sebastian or any of the other slaves, the Count’s little lesson would not have been so effective. Interestingly enough, the Count’s demonstration links his ideas with the “Positive Good†argument for slavery. Larry Tise describes this in simple terms: “aged and infirmed slaves are cared for by their masters, but ‘wage’ slaves face misery and ruin†(104).
