Anybody watch Roots?

[didymus]

I missed it, what did you think of it?

 

[RPRPsych]

I missed it, what did you think of it?

The series based on Alex Haley’s book? Or am I just dating myself hopelessly?

Nope. But I’ve read the book. Great read.

 

[thephilosopher6]

I missed it, what did you think of it?

I missed the first few minutes but I did catch most of it. I thought it was a wonderful adaptation and remake of the original. Slavery was a horrible period in American history. In fact, It was a horrible period in human history

 

[boomerang]

There is a remake of “Roots” coming out. Stories like these make for interesting entertainment, but old wounds never heal when they are constantly picked at. There have been a lot of slavery movies and TV lately. This can’t help but to foster more feelings of guilt and resentment and that is not healthy for a society. At some point you have to let go of the ‘bad old days’ and move on.

 

[Dwyer]

I think the remake so far is intense drama but keep in mind the book Roots by Alex Haley is a work of historical fiction.

However, the History Channel is billing Roots as a “Historical Presentation” in their viewer language warning at the beginning.

 

[LaetenturCaeli]

There’s a remake of Roots out?

(I’m sorry for being so off-topic, but why are we being practically assaulted with remakes and sequels these days?)

 

[Ridgerunner]

I think the remake so far is intense drama but keep in mind the book Roots by Alex Haley is a work of historical fiction.

However, the History Channel is billing Roots as a “Historical Presentation” in their viewer language warning at the beginning.

I saw the first segment. A bit long on “every white European is bad and Islam is good”. Even the black slavers are asserted to be doing it only because of English money. But the slavery in their own societies was benign, we’re assured.

And frankly, that whipping scene over the main character’s name strikes me as improbable. A strong, young male slave back then cost about $50,000 in today’s money. Maybe slave owners would risk that investment over a slave’s using an African name, but I have my doubts. Seems to me he was doing his work, which I suspect was all that really mattered very much to slave owners at the time.

 

[Ridgerunner]

There’s a remake of Roots out?

(I’m sorry for being so off-topic, but why are we being practically assaulted with remakes and sequels these days?)

Shortage of creative people, perhaps? Perhaps also unwillingness to take risks on altogether new stories?

 

[boomerang]

I saw the first segment. A bit long on “every white European is bad and Islam is good”. Even the black slavers are asserted to be doing it only because of English money. But the slavery in their own societies was benign, we’re assured.

And frankly, that whipping scene over the main character’s name strikes me as improbable. A strong, young male slave back then cost about $50,000 in today’s money. Maybe slave owners would risk that investment over a slave’s using an African name, but I have my doubts. Seems to me he was doing his work, which I suspect was all that really mattered very much to slave owners at the time.

Oh, yes!..Islam was wonderful for the slaves! I have read that there were far more slaves imported to Arabia than to the Americas, and the Arabs treated them much more cruelly. The males were routinely castrated. The death toll was horrendous. Modern Arabs still treat blacks badly, calling them “abid” which means “slave”.

 

[RPRPsych]

I think the remake so far is intense drama but keep in mind the book Roots by Alex Haley is a work of historical fiction.

However, the History Channel is billing Roots as a “Historical Presentation” in their viewer language warning at the beginning.

Absolutely.

Also, some parts of the novel were plagiarized from a book called “The African” by Harold Courlander.

 

[andrewstx]

I tried. But we had a bad thunderstorm, and the power and satellite kept going out. Yes in the desert!

 

[Dwyer]

I tried. But we had a bad thunderstorm, and the power and satellite kept going out. Yes in the desert!

You didn’t really miss out on anything.

The first episode was interesting but the second episode was just a 2 hour display of low level human behavior from both of the races.

Kunta Kinte is portrayed as having a full blown eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, Islamic Mandinka Warrior complex, and encourages his young daughter’s male house slave friend to harbor thoughts of murder and revenge against their masters. It is mentioned that Kunta’s young daughter, Kizzy, is an Atheist.

The entire Plantation white family, except perhaps their young daughter who befriends Kizzy, is portrayed as mean, petty, adulterous, and cruel.

Fiddler was perhaps the only decent character but in the end even he can’t forgive those who have trespassed against him.

The whole emphasis and message of this version of the Roots story is not a good one; so far it’s all about vengeance and hate for the other and I don’t think I’m going to spend much more time watching it.

 

[meltzerboy]

You didn’t really miss out on anything.

The first episode was interesting but the second episode was just a 2 hour display of low level human behavior from both of the races.

Kunta Kinte is portrayed as having a full blown eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, Islamic Mandinka Warrior complex, and encourages his young daughter’s male house slave friend to harbor thoughts of murder and revenge against their masters. It is mentioned that Kunta’s young daughter, Kizzy, is an Atheist.

The entire Plantation white family, except perhaps their young daughter who befriends Kizzy, is portrayed as mean, petty, adulterous, and cruel.

Fiddler was perhaps the only decent character but in the end even he can’t forgive those who have trespassed against him.

The whole emphasis and message of this version of the Roots story is not a good one; so far it’s all about vengeance and hate for the other and I don’t think I’m going to spend much more time watching it.

l agree with you. There is little to compare with the brilliant original version or the book, for that matter.

 

[RPRPsych]

You didn’t really miss out on anything.

The first episode was interesting but the second episode was just a 2 hour display of low level human behavior from both of the races.

Kunta Kinte is portrayed as having a full blown eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, Islamic Mandinka Warrior complex, and encourages his young daughter’s male house slave friend to harbor thoughts of murder and revenge against their masters.

Ugh. In the original book, there is a very brief mention of revenge while they are all being herded on the slavers’ ship, but not thereafter. Kunta is a Muslim, but certainly not a “warrior” as such.

It is mentioned that Kunta’s young daughter, Kizzy, is an Atheist.

Very unlikely, as her mother is clearly depicted as a Protestant.

The entire Plantation white family, except perhaps their young daughter who befriends Kizzy, is portrayed as mean, petty, adulterous, and cruel.

Again, this was not explicitly stated in the book.

Fiddler was perhaps the only decent character but in the end even he can’t forgive those who have trespassed against him.

The whole emphasis and message of this version of the Roots story is not a good one; so far it’s all about vengeance and hate for the other and I don’t think I’m going to spend much more time watching it.

Poor Fiddler. Looks like they did a number on him too.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why you should Just. Read. The. Book.

 

[didymus]

You didn’t really miss out on anything.

The first episode was interesting but the second episode was just a 2 hour display of low level human behavior from both of the races.

Kunta Kinte is portrayed as having a full blown eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, Islamic Mandinka Warrior complex, and encourages his young daughter’s male house slave friend to harbor thoughts of murder and revenge against their masters. It is mentioned that Kunta’s young daughter, Kizzy, is an Atheist.

The entire Plantation white family, except perhaps their young daughter who befriends Kizzy, is portrayed as mean, petty, adulterous, and cruel.

Fiddler was perhaps the only decent character but in the end even he can’t forgive those who have trespassed against him.

The whole emphasis and message of this version of the Roots story is not a good one; so far it’s all about vengeance and hate for the other and I don’t think I’m going to spend much more time watching it.

A few things.
The role of Islam was ambiguous. A lot of times Muslims were go-betweens retailing captured pagan slaves to whites, other times Muslims were sold by other Africans. Almost never did whites venture to the interior to capture slaves.

As for idea that Kunta would not be whipped until he renounced his name because he was “valuable property” – balderdash. As a fresh from Africa slave it was especially important to break him. Keep in mind also that slaveholders knew just how much punishment they could inflict without doing permanent damage.

As for being set on revenge, I would describe it as keeping alive their dream of freedom. And why would the slaves forgive? The masters certainly don’t feel bound by Christian morals and they used Christianity as a weapon of oppression.

As for showing white people as evil, why not? A lot of them were. A lot of them tried to be kindly but were still part of an evil system and they could turn on a dime if they felt offended by a slave, i.e. one who didn’t keep up the keep up the pretense of being part of a happy family.
Tom Lea, on the other end of the spectrum was probably not typical but also not unrealistic.

Besides, by my reckoning it would be perfectly moral to for anyone to kill anyone who tried to enslave him. “Live free or die.”

A lot of things totally unrealistic:
All the slaves hanging around their cabins during the daytime. Slaves worked sunup to sundown six days a week, sometimes a half-day on Sundays.

Kizzy would not of been allowed to be friends with the white girl past the age of 6-8.

All the shouting and shoving matches between masters or overseers & slaves. No backtalk would be tolerated and no slave who laid hands on a white person would be killed or sold away.

The massacre of black Union soldiers; there were only a couple such incidents during the war although they often were given “no quarter” during the fighting.

I’d like to find “The African” the book Alex Haley plagiarized to write Roots.

 

[Sarcelle]

A few things.
The role of Islam was ambiguous. A lot of times Muslims were go-betweens retailing captured pagan slaves to whites, other times Muslims were sold by other Africans. Almost never did whites venture to the interior to capture slaves.

As for idea that Kunta would not be whipped until he renounced his name because he was “valuable property” – balderdash. As a fresh from Africa slave it was especially important to break him. Keep in mind also that slaveholders knew just how much punishment they could inflict without doing permanent damage.

As for being set on revenge, I would describe it as keeping alive their dream of freedom. And why would the slaves forgive? The masters certainly don’t feel bound by Christian morals and they used Christianity as a weapon of oppression.

As for showing white people as evil, why not? A lot of them were. A lot of them tried to be kindly but were still part of an evil system and they could turn on a dime if they felt offended by a slave, i.e. one who didn’t keep up the keep up the pretense of being part of a happy family.
Tom Lea, on the other end of the spectrum was probably not typical but also not unrealistic.

Besides, by my reckoning it would be perfectly moral to for anyone to kill anyone who tried to enslave him. “Live free or die.”

A lot of things totally unrealistic:
All the slaves hanging around their cabins during the daytime. Slaves worked sunup to sundown six days a week, sometimes a half-day on Sundays.

Kizzy would not of been allowed to be friends with the white girl past the age of 6-8.

All the shouting and shoving matches between masters or overseers & slaves. No backtalk would be tolerated and no slave who laid hands on a white person would be killed or sold away.

The massacre of black Union soldiers; there were only a couple such incidents during the war although they often were given “no quarter” during the fighting.

I’d like to find “The African” the book Alex Haley plagiarized to write Roots.

True.

Slavery is an evil which still exists today.

No amount of whitewashing will make it moral or good.

 

[didymus]

One thing, I’m curious how they got away with staging the cockfighting scenes what with all the animal rights groups on the lookout.

 

[7_Sorrows]

There is a remake of “Roots” coming out. Stories like these make for interesting entertainment, but old wounds never heal when they are constantly picked at. There have been a lot of slavery movies and TV lately. This can’t help but to foster more feelings of guilt and resentment and that is not healthy for a society. At some point you have to let go of the ‘bad old days’ and move on.

I like Snoop Dog’s take on this remake and other movies about slavery. I don’t have the link but I am sure you can find it. Something like we need to be looking at achievements by African Americans today and not feeling victimized by the past.

 

[gracepoole]

There is a remake of “Roots” coming out. Stories like these make for interesting entertainment, but old wounds never heal when they are constantly picked at. There have been a lot of slavery movies and TV lately. This can’t help but to foster more feelings of guilt and resentment and that is not healthy for a society. At some point you have to let go of the ‘bad old days’ and move on.

So we simply stop talking about history because it might make people feel uncomfortable?

 

[boomerang]

So we simply stop talking about history because it might make people feel uncomfortable?

There is a fine line between learning history, which appeals to the intellect, and sensationalizing it, which appeals directly to the emotions and encourages hatred and violence. As I recall, the first time Roots was broadcast, there were many instances of gangs of blacks assaulting whites at random while screaming “Roots! Roots!” We already had one Roots. Do we really need another? We have also recently had “Twelve Years a Slave” which was nothing but torture porn in my opinion. The violence depicted in that film wasn’t even in the book, it was just added for gratuitous sensationalism. This is way beyond simply learning history.