Thoughts On the Roots Remake

So tonight is the premiere of the Roots remake mini-series on the History Channel and it’s sister networks A&E and Lifetime.

Let me be the first to admit, I’ve never been a fan of the slave narrative films.  The good ones are so raw and heartbreaking, that I find it sticks with me so much, I find myself not able to let go the feelings an emotions they bring up for days if not longer.  So I admit, I take the cowards way out and just don’t watch any of them.

The original Roots film came on television in 1977.  I was born in 1976, so way too young to have watched the original broadcast, and even though as a teen the novel Roots was on the summer book list for my high school, I admit that I never actually watched the original 1977 miniseries from beginning to end in it’s entirety.  To be honest, thanks to my no-slavery films rule, I wasn’t gonna watch this remake at all.  Well thanks to a number of reviews of the first episode of the series, from a number of people I respect, I’ve decided to forego my usual concerns and I gonna watch the first episode of the new remake

 

So having said all that, I have been preparing myself for the broadcast and I’ve been watching and reading articles and interviews and what not on the new remake.  While doing that, I came across an Billboard article about Snoop Dogg telling his fans to boycott the Roots remake.  And it’s been sitting on my mind for most of the day.

Look, I get it, some folks just don’t want to see or watch movies about the slave narrative…

I also get that folks who watched the original don’t see the need for a remake (I’ll just remind folks that no one wanted remake of The Wiz either, but at the very least expected it to be crap, but were pleasantly surprised).

But the idea that these stories, have been told enough, just isn’t true. The number of young folks don’t know the true nature of the history of slavery. I still remember talking to my nephew and some other younger folks, all of who’s parent’ are “WOKE AF”, the watered down mess they learn in school, is insulting.

Shows about slavery can be done with care and consideration and can be compelling (see Underground).

So yeah, I can totally see why folks are like why remake Roots, but the idea that films about slavery just shouldn’t be done, IDK, I can’t agree with that.

I don’t know if I’m articulating very well, but all I know is, you’ve got folks literally trying to erase Slavery from text books. guess what if we don’t tell the stories they will erase it and generation today will never hear or see if the true nature of slavery.