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Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property cover image

Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property 2002

Highly Recommended

Distributed by California Newsreel, Order Dept., PO Box 2284, South Burlington, VT 05407; 877-811-7495 (toll free)
Produced by Frank Christopher
Directed by Charles Burnett
DVD, color, 60 min.



College - Adult
African American Studies, History, Social Science

Date Entered: 01/10/2005

Reviewed by Ayodele Ojumu, Graduate Student, Department of Library and Information Studies, University at Buffalo, State University of New York

Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property is a documentary film that takes on a very ambiguous, controversial as well as historical figure. Nat Turner, a slave, driven by divine intervention or insanity, organized one of the most infamous 24-hour slave insurrections in American history. On August 21, 1828, in Southampton County, Virginia, Turner began his rebellious force with six of his men. Within the 24-hour period, the rebels rose to forty slaves who killed a total of fifty-five white people. On November 11th, Nat Turner was executed by hanging and then skinned.

Days before his execution, Turner’s words were recorded and compiled by Thomas R. Gray, a Virginia lawyer, from jailhouse interviews. These sessions were eventually published in The Confessions of Nat Turner, which stands as the main source of information regarding Turner’s reasons for launching the insurrection. Were these the actual words of Nat Turner? Or, were his words re-shaped and embellished? It’s difficult to take the words of Gray’s publication on face value, yet they cannot be discounted.

Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property not only chronicles the August 21st slave uprising, but also highlights how the man has been remembered and interpreted throughout the years. Interviews, archival footage, and dramatizations of various points from Turner’s life are interspersed allowing the viewer to form their own conclusions. I appreciate the avoidance of establishing one definitive interpretation of Nat Turner. The technical quality of Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property is excellent. Both public and academic library collections, alike, will be enhanced by this film, which is highly recommended.