Diggin Roots

[Cynique]

Well, the televised re-make of Roots came to an end and I, personally, was enriched and educated by ignoring calls to boycott it.  I have yet to see the gangsta rap film, "Straight Outta Compton", which I assume would be Snoop Dog's preference for black folks to watch instead of a saga about slavery, but I don't think it could have been any better than this re-make of Roots. 

In critiquing this TV special, I am not inspired to give a long detailed analysis. My impression of it can be summed up in a paragraph.  IMO, Roots was in the genre of a classic, character-driven epic and was well-produced, well-directed, well-cast and well-acted.  Its in-depth portrayal of the slavery experience was effective, accurate and, in some instances, horrifying. Woven into its generational story line was melodrama and adventure, tragedy and comedy and it all began with the charismatic Kunta Kinte, a proud young Mandingo warrior sold into slavery by his enemies and shipped across the Atlantic to America, where he and his descendants were forced to live in bondage until the civil war freed the slaves. The latest version of Alex Haley's narrative was simply a good solid effort and was well worth watching because the subject matter was, in a word, "compelling"  I liked this re-make better than the original because it was more prolific.  

Since few movies are totally flawless, however, I'll give Roots 31/2 out of 4 stars.  

[Troy]

Cynique, while Roots was an 8 hour epic, and Straight Outta Compton  is just a two hour flick, a direct comparison may not be fair, but I easily enjoyed Roots more that SOC.  Comparing it to the first version Roots may not be fair either, but if you try to make allowances for the superior technology the latest version was afforded; I still think the new version was far superior.

Also given the freedom to know that this version was purely fictional I could turn the part of my brain that checks for the plausibility of situations, and just enjoy the film.

I was really just enjoyed looking at the people.  The men we handsome, and the women were fine.  The cinematography at times was simply spectacular, the beautiful Black people, the colors, the landscape combined at times to be simply awesome.

While I know Snoop Dogg was calling for a boycott, who else called for a one? 

I haven't even seen part four yet.

No one else in my family is interested in watching Roots.  Last night I watched, it on demand, while everyone else who was at home was watching the NBA finals. Since I have no dog in the race or money on the line.  The outcome of the bball game is of very little interest to me, 

Admittedly, I saw no use in investing time in another version of Roots, when so many other stories need to be told.  But I guess remakes are so much easier to make from a creative standpoint, because crafting a new story from scratch, even one based on history, is always more difficult.  But the upside of doing something brand new is much greater.  

 

[Cynique]

I don't doubt that the story itself was romanticized fiction, but I do think that its setting and lesser known revelations about slavery are accurate.  Snoop Dog's call for a boycott of Roots supposedly went viral and I think a lot of people, especially those of the younger generation, agreed with him and did bypass this TV event.. And if it would be more apt to compare Roots to a current black series as opposed to a single movie about gangsta rap, there are a few  black TV programs that come to mind - but they're all comedies.  LOL  .  

No denying that the production put a lot of black actors, and behind-the-scene staffers to work, not to mention rapper T.I. who appeared in the last episode.