Friday Flashback: 1977 Roots vs. 2016 Roots
- wwetvsports21
- Jun 3, 2016
- 2 min read
Four decades ago Alex Haley’ made mainstream news with his Pulitzer-winning book and an adaptation by NBC in a miniseries that rocked America. Years later before dying in 1992, Alex Haley's book and portrayal went under the knife of critics who tried to dispel most of his work as bad scholarship and not entirely the truth of his family tree. So how does the remake stand against the original?
I think the most important thing is for people to realize that at no point did we lose our humanity. The entire structure of society was about stripping humanity away but thy never succeeded. I was never ever telling the slave story, I was telling the story of extraordinary people who survived an incredibly difficult history. -Regé-Jean Page
The remake goes into more depth with African traditions that were taught to Kunte Kinte and more time spent in Africa at the beginning of the mini series. A better understanding of the region and the politics that ran rampant that helped contribute to the slave trade is displayed better than the original.
The new version also goes into more about blacks being apart of the revolutionary war and the civil war which was a nice touch showing what was happening across America. Does the new Kunte Kinte put on a better display than the original? Tough to say as both Levar Burton and Malachi Kirby bring their own passion to the role (along with John Amos who played the older Kunte Kinte in the original).
A problem have with this new version of Kunte Kinte is something they are calling the
Another lovable character from the original was Fiddler who was played by Louis Gosset Jr. and marveled viewers at the time. The 2016 version played by Forest Whitaker doesn't disappoint either. It's amazing how both actors breathed a different life into the role, but I believe Louis Gosset Jr.played the better version.
All in all, both versions give a great insight into a time period of American history that some would like to forget, while others believe should never be forgotten.
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