The Slavery Reboot and Roots

Depicting slavery via Hollywood can be a tough sell; because you have to create a very dramatic time in history, tell it with truth, but not enough truth - or you anger the audience you are trying to reach - while trying to convey some sort of message. 

The difficulty is that there can be too much truth, so you tend to tell the story from a Point-Of-View of one character's story (or one director's vision), which can create a disservice because viewpoints can be altered, changed, or ignored. Slavery was a business, and a true adaptation of film would have to expose the business end of it, in order to produce something that would be both entertaining, shocking, educational, and timeless. But the focus and purpose of depicting slavery in film, in the end, seems to lead only to entertainment.

So from that - we have to learn something. The subject of slavery in film has evolved, but it's message is still present today, but finding that connection can be tough - and what we are left with are films we see as repetitious, which in reality, we just have to look deeper.

The Old Films

ROOTS: 1977

Roots 2016  the reboot, has become the talk of the town, and the voice of controversy: are we sick and tired of these adaptations about American History? While back in the day, Roots (the original), was considered groundbreaking; revealing a much hidden time in history of the slave trade. This was brought to the homes of millions of Americans, both black and white (capturing 50% of the households), led by a talented cast of black newcomers, exposing the underbelly of the American Dream.

It also created a scattered view of slavery, and how each generation dealt with it as it progressed through history. It finally revealed that the emotions and cruelty behind slavery, never really stopped, but changed into something else - into new ways of oppression, from whippings, to beatings, to separation, to ostrasizing, to manipulation - it was all the same collar, just made pretty.

SANKOVA: 

 Another movie (1993), that offered a different point of view through the eyes of an American model, who's lost touch with her ancestral roots, while on a photo shoot in Ghana. She visits one of the castles that used to house slaves awaiting transport aboard slave ships. She suddenly sees visions of slaves shackled in the corners of the castle, and as she tried to escape, she is transported back in time to that very time period, and embodies the form of one of her ancestors.

There was a lesson in this, beyond the disturbing images of slaves who looked lost and silent, their understanding of what is happening seems too bewildering to comprehend. It was a story about, "Not forgetting where you come from," (which is actually the loose translation of the word: Sankova). Being in society does not mean you a part of that society...part of that history. Knowing your past, means knowing who you really are.

It is these lessons you have to see past the glitz and glamour, and the true connection between then and now. 

AHMISTAD:

Another film about the Middle Passage, made by the most Blackest-of-White Directors; Stephen Spielberg, which tells the story of a mutiny aboard the slave ship La Amistad. It was raw in it's depiction of unrest and savagery aboard these ships (although the violence is tame by today's standards). It also showed a justice system that perpetuated the idea that these men were only property (until Djimon Hounsou delivers his infamous line of "Give Us Free!"). While freedom came - it came at a very tough cost to these men, which was not revealed on screen.

The laws were not made for us, is the lesson here, they were made against us.

UNCLE TOM'S CABIN: 1903...and beyond

Speaking of a film that cemented not only slavery, but stereotypes into the minds of America, this one was it. What was suppose to be an anti-slavery book, turned into a Hollywood mistral show. A story of a pair of kindly slave owners, who run into money trouble, and have to sell two of their slaves: Uncle Tom, and Eliza; the son of a maidservant. Uncle Tom tries to watch over Eliza during these trying times; always with a smile on his face. This book spawned so many movies, so many stage plays, so much inspiration in children's animation, while popularizing the racist beginnings of': Black Face, Pickaninny, Dancing Negroes, and the willingness of Black servitude to Whites. 

The popularity of the films and stage plays, revealed a terrifying reality - that this is what America saw believed, and accepted. This is what people wanted to see. Anger came from Blacks in the sense that this fantasy, this fable, in the minds of White America, was a real thing. It created a fixed mindset that is still present today...we are right where we are suppose to be.

Watch The Film Here - Be Warned, it can be disturbing.

NEW FILMS

While films like Lincoln, Jefferson in Paris, and even Beloved, kept slavery entrenched in the past - time would bring on new films that offered a different type of viewpoint beyond that of the Male African journey to Slave America.

DJANGO UNCHAINED:

This revenge saga comes from the view of a Black Slave Catcher, helping his white Bounty Hunter to catch runaway slaves. This film was very bold in its depiction of slavery, and the cruelty that actually existed. There was no savior, and the treatment of slaves became the backdrop of the film. The violence was happening everywhere, as if it were an everyday thing, and the audience became an unwilling witness to this debauchery; watching, unable to help. It felt a little too real, and while Django was pursuing a happy ending to his saga...no one else would. The true lesson here that is also disturbing, is our communities habit of "looking the other way." It has lessened with the exposure of police violence against youth, we don't allow our voice alone to stop things, we elicit the voices of others to do it now via social media. But in many situations, silence still prevails.

THE BOOK OF NEGROES:

A woman's point of view through the Transatlantic Slave Trade, and how what she saw as a child, strengthened her through her adulthood, and how her skills as a "baby catcher" or midwife, and her literacy saved her. It also shows a determination to never forget where you come from, because her life's journey was to always return to her homeland - while she used her skills to navigate her survival. It's a lesson in knowing your worth, and how we are all given abilities and gifts that can be used to exercise a freedom not only for ourselves, but for others. 

UNDERGROUND:

A journey of freedom from the eyes of multiple viewpoints. This television series (Produced by John Legend - WGN), is one created to give a younger generation the on-going knowledge of what happened during the years of the Underground Railroad, but to also bring within that story one of hope and survival - each episode bring a sense of inspiration. While this series does create an interesting viewpoint (each slave has a different outlook on what survival means to them - to stay, or to leave).

 I however, can't escape the Hollywood shine this production has; the scripted cliffhangers, the fresh-out-the-shower looks, the mystery of how are they exactly surviving on a daily basis as far as food and water. It lacks a bit of realism to me, although the story lines and movement are very interesting and captivating to watch. It has a style, with great cinematography and hip-hop sound track. It is definitely more for entertainment than raw education.

It's message of Unity however, is loud and clear: While we may have conflicts among ourselves, to overcome the bigger picture, we have to come together.

ROOTS - 2016:

With the first of four installments already having aired, this remake of the 1977 classic has some large shoes to fill. The cast is a mix of many cultures, and the lead role of Kunta Kinte (the British born, Malachi Kirby, is a great casting choice - he brings the determination and defiance to a generation familiar with suffering and abuse from a system it can't trust). 

What is new in this present adaptation is the connection it has with Mother Africa, and it's constant reminder to remember where you come from. It also represents the mentality that was fixed from two cultures mixing; European and African; Power vs, Pride. People have fought wars on those standards alone. It not only shows the oppression of slavery, but it has a longer introduction; showing African heritage and customs. It also traumatic in exposing the separation slavery caused for family and self-identity.

 Most oppressed individuals in history had a country or a land they could escape back to, a heritage they could hold onto and unite together under - but not for the African American slave. There was no sense of history, so there was no sense of pride at past accomplishments in the world. Africa wasn't attached to America, had it been so, we would have had a place to run to to regain our hope, to find help and refuge. Our reliance on our enemies became paramount in this New World. 

This show is very graphic in terms of slave treatment and conditions. It won't be a classic, especially with films such as 7-Years a Slave, having given us a viewpoint of a free man who became slave, thus putting the audience in the slave's shoes, and also displaying a raw look at slavery - we are used to such knowledge and the images it brings, and are almost overloaded with it (Free State of Jones movie is right around the corner). But this series can work as a companion piece to that 1977 Classic - in showing that while things have seemed to change for the better - they have only really remained the same...

...only the viewpoint is different (and the camera's are watching).

Snoop Calls for Boycott in Expletive-Filled Video

Maybe Snoop Dog is right, and we need more positive images of African American's on screen, but then again, if we don't learn from our past - we are doomed to repeat it.