ROOTS(1977)
One of the most significant TV mini-series ever
to be made!! Although this was later to be debunked
as not truly a historical story of a line of ancestors
as it was once presented as, this is non-the-less still
historically faithful to the inhumane treatment of the
slaves that were kidnapped from their homeland and
sold to the highest bidder! A very hard series to
watch, but a must watch by all! Just to be warned,
if you're squimish about what language was used
back in this time frame(1750s-1870s) then this may
not be for you!
Disc 1:
This takes us from the villages of Africa where
Kunta Kinte(LeVar Burton) is born and raised to
the age of 15, where, while going through the ritual
of becoming a man, he first runs into the white men
who have come to gather up slaves for America! Shortly
after this encounter, he's captured, along with 179
others, and their voyage across the sea begins!
Disc 2:
This picks up where we left off in the previous
episode, with Kunta and the rest trying to make
a plan to get free and take over the ship! After
a failed attempt, the ship sets land in Maryland
where the "shipment" is unloaded and the sale of
the slaves begins! He becomes property of Lorne
Green, tries to escape, and gets whipped!!
Disc 3:
Kunte just can't live with being a slave and
tries to escape, again!! This has dire consequences
as he is maimed after being re-caught! He meets up
with his wife to be, and they have a daughter!
Disc 4:
This one follows Kunte's daughter's(Kizzy) trials
through which culminates in her having a boy
that grows up to be Chicken George, who's father
is her master!
Disc 5:
Picking up a few years after the end of the last
part, with the adventures of Chicken George and
his owner(Chuck Conners), along with George's
mother(Kizzy)! And it seems that there is an
uprising amoung the slaves, killing off whole
families! Also, this shows the start-up of the
KKK!! And Chicken George is sent away to Europe
to train chickens, supposedly for only a couple
of years, but it turns into 20 which is totally
skipped over!! And things aren't the same as they
were when he comes back as when he left!
Disc 6:
Freedom - but not really!! Civil War comes to an
end; Lincoln is assassinated; the slaves are freed;
but we all know what happens next, the carpetbaggers,
the KKK, the total mistreatment of the blacks that
are taken advantage of by the whites who just couldn't
except change! And unfortunately for this country,
it still goes on and on!!
Fortunately, Alex Haley's ancestor's made it out
of slavery and to freedom in Tennessee where they
finally ended up! Now, whether any of this is a
true story is still up for debate, but I'm certain
at least some of it has it's basis in fact!
And whether you watch this as a historical telling
of family history, or just a story about the horors
that black people endured constantly throughout the
early years of the United States, this is a great
mini-series!! A+
From IMDb.com:
As we are still striving to make sense and harmony
of racial relations. As this miniseries from the 1977
TV season that drew over 100M people and how it
introduced the world to how racism really began about.
It shows the struggle to be free and how it looks
at the descendants of the late Alex Haley, author
the book thinking that the word "free" would never,
ever come.
By showing the struggles that these people have. From
Kunta Kinte the main protagonist to his line of family
linage like Kizzy, Chicken George, etc.
A great cast led by a then unknown Levar Burton and
great writing. Shows us that this miniseries needs
to be seen not just in the past, but present and future
generations to come.
No matter what race, color, creed, gender, religion,
etc we belong in. For it is the fight to accept others
like in the past that has since occurred in the present
and in the future to come.
Haley should take a bow for opening up 100M to the fight
to remain free and accept others! - ShelbyTMItchell