With so many unsatisfactory movie and TV remakes out there, it's understandable to question why Hollywood continues to make them. However, Roots is an exception. Not only do the remakes feel like their version makes more sense than ever, but the differences between Roots and the original miniseries will make the updated version more accurate than when it first aired in 1977. "Roots" is adapted from the novel "Roots: The Legend of an American Family" by Alex Haley. While A+E Networks' version, which will air simulcast on History, Lifetime and the A&E Channel, will have some changes from the 40-year-old original, expect to learn about the rich history of Kunta Kinte and her family when it premieres on May 30 Monday.
According to Nielsen, the 1977 miniseries " Roots" was a landmark television production, watched by more than 50 percent of U.S. households with televisions. To help put that number into perspective, Vulture compared the top-rated cable show of 2016, AMC's The Walking Dead, which had a viewership rating of just under 8%. Since the show was highly rated when it first aired and had a profound impact on college and high school students who were taught "Roots" classes watching the show in school (like me), remakes seemed unnecessary. However, as The Hollywood Reporter writes, the original series could be considered dated, with showrunner LeVar Burton (who played Quinta Kinte in the original) stating that showrunner Mark Wolper ( (whose father produced the original) told him that the series he was trying to show his own 16-year-old son didn't resonate with him. Thus, a remake was born, with music overseen by Questlove (who incidentally came from The Roots), giving it a modern twist.
Click here to watch the 1977 miniseries
But not only does the new Roots Burton gain recognition with a more timeless beauty that can be viewed and appreciated by future generations, but the current social climate also had an impact on the creation of 2016 Roots . As the New York Times wrote, "The hope is to revisit the roots of the 'Black Lives Matter' era," and director Mario Van Peebles cited a moment in the play in which an escaped slave is behind Being shot, which is particularly relevant to current events. The number of shootings of young black men.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter about the scene, Van Peebles said: "Unfortunately, the way we film assassinations and the way it's interpreted is ultimately timeless. For some people, especially as It’s going to be difficult for me as a parent to watch this, “Don’t think about where we are now. "
In addition to modern viewers being able to compare today's race relations to the slavery that had such a huge impact on history, viewers will notice more superficial updates. For example, Kunta Kinte will be played by one actor - Malachi Kirby - throughout the series, rather than as Burton and John Amos in 1977. Age division. Burton spoke about how he encouraged fellow British actor Kirby and new Quinta Kinte to create his own version of the iconic character. Bell noted that while Burton's Konta was more childlike, Kirby felt more like a man and his "warrior spirit" was on display.
But the main difference between the two miniseries, besides the newer production, is the discovery of more information about the history behind Roots . In an interview with Bell, Burton claimed that due to the success of the novel and miniseries in the 1970s, more people wanted to research Quinta Kinte's origins. Burton noted that people are learning more about the Mandinka culture, of which the Kunta were a part, such as that they were cavalry, and Bell noted that the new series reveals that the Kinte family are Muslim. Producer Wolper told The New York Times that while Konta's home in the African village of Juffour, The Gambia, was depicted as a remote location in the original miniseries, history now shows that Juffour was a busy business trading post. These newly discovered elements of Quinta's origins will be updated for the reimagined roots .
The New York Times reports that one of the first historical elements not included to be part of the updated version is the Civil War Battle of Fort Pillow. When Union troops surrendered, Southern troops took white soldiers as prisoners but either murdered black soldiers or sent them into the slave trade. "Roots" chronicles the horrors of slavery and the mistreatment of the black community over generations, and this added scene will serve as yet another heart-wrenching moment in America's sad history.
When Roots premiered on television in 1977, it became a seminal moment in cultural history that A+E Networks hopes to repeat nearly four decades later. But more important is the history of slavery depicted in "Roots," and no updates to the miniseries can change its resonance. To experience this seminal history in your living room, you can watch the four-part, eight-hour miniseries "Roots," which airs starting at 9 p.m. on Memorial Day and will run every night for the next three nights. A new episode airs.
Click here to purchase Roots: The Saga of an American Family
Photo: Casey Craftford (3), Steve Dietl (2)/A+E Networks
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