Watch Roots: The Mini-series
I tend to be one who subscribes to the “book was better”. The book gives me more detail and allows me to fill in a clearer picture. That happened when reading the book and then watching the series.
While I knew that Levar Burton was one of the famous faces in the series, I was pleasantly surprised to see so many familiar faces. And while the sets were really clean, I felt much of the emotion that was stirred up within me that came off the pages.
I found the mini-series on Amazon Prime for $26.99; 6 episodes a little over an hour each. I carved out time to sit and watch. There were only a few scenes I needed to fast forward through and eventually the sting of watching the “n” word be used so commonly faded. I think they did a great job of minimizing the use of this word in comparison to the book - another good reason for reading the book - I knew they producers had made this decision.
The way this family passed along the story of Kunte Kinte is how they kept their identity, strength and hope that living free was a someday possibility. They told the story over and over was how they kept the legacy alive. We don’t do this anymore and I think this is one of the most compelling things about Hayley’s family’s story and his diligence in having it told.
I curled up on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon to watch the series. I liked that I knew many of the actors from other efforts and that I better understood Alex Haley’s reason for writing; did you know that this was based on his twelve year research about his own ancestors?
The whole thing is a commitment - the book and the television series - but it’s one that I think every American would find value in this powerful story.
