subject: Roots – one of the most important stories of our time [print this page] Roots one of the most important stories of our time
It's arguably one of the most important productions to come out of the US in at least the last two generations, if not ever.
And the stats around Roots, the mini TV series do nothing but substantiate this claim: all and each of the eight episodes, which aired in back in January 1977, still rank within the top 100 rated TV shows ever.
The show documents several generations of a family, who
Warner Bros. are now hosting the show on their online TV platform, Warner TV, giving audiences the opportunity to see for themselves, the compelling story of several generations of a single family and their subjectivity to slavery,
Roots TV series starts in 1750, with African Muslim Kunta Kinte, played by LeVar Burton. He's the son of Muslims who belong to the Mandinka tribe, the largest ethnic group in Gambia. Shortly after Kunta is initiated as a Mandinka warrior at age 15, he is sadly captured by slave traders and ends up on a ship bound for America.
The series then follows Kunta's three-month journey to America and his subsequent life there, with tales of a brutality and cruelty, as he tries desperately to cling on to his Mandinka heritage and Muslim faith, resisting the western customs forced upon him, including a new name, Toby.
In his reluctance to accept his new name, he is whipped until he surrenders to it and even has his foot severed following several escape attempts. Having had enough of the torture, he reluctantly gives in, accepting his hellish life as a slave.
He eventually marries a fellow slave and has a daughter, who, when in her teens, is sold on after being caught writing a fake travel pass for a boy she's in love with, is raped by her new master, resulting in the birth of her son, George.
The story continues, following George, who is sent to England but returns 14 years later, a free man, and has a son of his own - Tom. The plot nears it's conclusion documenting the life of Tom, a slave of the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, and how post war racism leads to the advent of the Ku Klux Klan, who Tom and his family are taunted and tortured by, before fleeing to Tennessee to be reunited with George, his father, who has land there.
Roots really is one of the most important stories of our time, providing an emotional insight into the tortured, inhumane treatment endured by many of our ancestors a definite addition to the "must watch/read" lists of everyone who hasn't heard the story before.
