I want to start by saying, if you're a white person who dislikes this version of Roots because "there's no good white people," or "the Africans are too advanced," you're either a moron or a douchebag. There were no nice slaveowners, and West Africans were doing pretty well until the slave trade came along. Grow up.
When I heard back in 2013 that The History Channel was going to remake "Roots", my skin crawled. It seemed kind of blasphemous to do a remake of one of the most important cultural moments of the 20th century, not even 40 years after it aired. But I know some of the history in the original is certainly flawed, and it's important to re-tell this story. So sure! Let's give it a whirl!
I think this new version only outshines the original in a couple instances: The updates to Juffure and the portrayal of Mandinkan culture/clothes/housing is really cool to see. The inclusion of the internal West African slave trade is also really important. We know now that having Kunta and co. running around in loincloths in the woods and white men strolling through the jungle randomly kidnapping people didn't really happen. On the other hand, the original tale Alex Haley heard was that Kunta was out chopping wood to make a drum when he was taken - kinda weird that this was entirely omitted, but I suppose I can let that go if it means seeing a more accurate Juffure.
I also appreciated the removal of all those goofy sympathetic white characters. Anyone who knows the story behind the original miniseries knows those characters were created because ABC thought white people wouldn't tune in if there weren't some nice white guys sprinkled in to make them feel better. I think it's more important to drive home the overwhelming racism, violence, and brutality that permeated every part of that society; it's difficult for us today to grasp just how bad it was.
Aside from these two updates, I don't really think the new version improves on the original, nor is it accurate to the times. No doubt there were dignified, proud, sly slaves who could find ways around or out of the system (as Kunta's descendants do in the original), but let's be honest: Kunta killing his overseer and not immediately having his head cut off is ridiculous. Any kind of violent resistance to a white person would have been met with totally gratuitous cruelty on the part of the slave-owners. For most slaves there was little to no relief from the constant terror, violence, and depression that loomed day in and day out over the plantation. That's really what makes the history of slavery so heartbreaking. There wasn't much of a way out. Kizzy holding a knife to Tom Lea's throat, Chicken George just shooting Murray's son and walking off into the sunset is ridiculous, and it downplays the total brutality of the system. 99.9% of slaves never would've dared something like that. Most understood that there really were no opportunities for them to settle the score unless they were prepared for certain death.
To make a long story short, the new series is definitely more accurate when it comes to the Africa scenes and the middle passage. Once Kunta's in America, the original miniseries was far more accurate - not in terms of violence (there was a lot that couldn't get past the censors in 1977), but in terms of the slaves' attitudes and actions. We see fiddler with his backhanded compliments, Kizzy spitting into Missy Ann's water, Tom and the family setting a trap for Evan Brent; they get away with as much as they can without the master noticing, and that was fairly typical. I also think the original is far more emotionally gripping.
Lastly, as to be expected with something put out by The History Channel (Sorry - "History"), there's a bunch of time spent on unnecessarily working in historical events that could've been spent on the characters and the inner-workings of slavery. Having Kunta join the Ethiopian Regiment, or Chicken George at Ft. Pillow was not necessary at all, and it totally took me out of the story.
I could go on, but I won't. Check it out if you're a black history buff, but it doesn't hold a candle to the original for me.
When I heard back in 2013 that The History Channel was going to remake "Roots", my skin crawled. It seemed kind of blasphemous to do a remake of one of the most important cultural moments of the 20th century, not even 40 years after it aired. But I know some of the history in the original is certainly flawed, and it's important to re-tell this story. So sure! Let's give it a whirl!
I think this new version only outshines the original in a couple instances: The updates to Juffure and the portrayal of Mandinkan culture/clothes/housing is really cool to see. The inclusion of the internal West African slave trade is also really important. We know now that having Kunta and co. running around in loincloths in the woods and white men strolling through the jungle randomly kidnapping people didn't really happen. On the other hand, the original tale Alex Haley heard was that Kunta was out chopping wood to make a drum when he was taken - kinda weird that this was entirely omitted, but I suppose I can let that go if it means seeing a more accurate Juffure.
I also appreciated the removal of all those goofy sympathetic white characters. Anyone who knows the story behind the original miniseries knows those characters were created because ABC thought white people wouldn't tune in if there weren't some nice white guys sprinkled in to make them feel better. I think it's more important to drive home the overwhelming racism, violence, and brutality that permeated every part of that society; it's difficult for us today to grasp just how bad it was.
Aside from these two updates, I don't really think the new version improves on the original, nor is it accurate to the times. No doubt there were dignified, proud, sly slaves who could find ways around or out of the system (as Kunta's descendants do in the original), but let's be honest: Kunta killing his overseer and not immediately having his head cut off is ridiculous. Any kind of violent resistance to a white person would have been met with totally gratuitous cruelty on the part of the slave-owners. For most slaves there was little to no relief from the constant terror, violence, and depression that loomed day in and day out over the plantation. That's really what makes the history of slavery so heartbreaking. There wasn't much of a way out. Kizzy holding a knife to Tom Lea's throat, Chicken George just shooting Murray's son and walking off into the sunset is ridiculous, and it downplays the total brutality of the system. 99.9% of slaves never would've dared something like that. Most understood that there really were no opportunities for them to settle the score unless they were prepared for certain death.
To make a long story short, the new series is definitely more accurate when it comes to the Africa scenes and the middle passage. Once Kunta's in America, the original miniseries was far more accurate - not in terms of violence (there was a lot that couldn't get past the censors in 1977), but in terms of the slaves' attitudes and actions. We see fiddler with his backhanded compliments, Kizzy spitting into Missy Ann's water, Tom and the family setting a trap for Evan Brent; they get away with as much as they can without the master noticing, and that was fairly typical. I also think the original is far more emotionally gripping.
Lastly, as to be expected with something put out by The History Channel (Sorry - "History"), there's a bunch of time spent on unnecessarily working in historical events that could've been spent on the characters and the inner-workings of slavery. Having Kunta join the Ethiopian Regiment, or Chicken George at Ft. Pillow was not necessary at all, and it totally took me out of the story.
I could go on, but I won't. Check it out if you're a black history buff, but it doesn't hold a candle to the original for me.