Amistad (1997) and Roots (1977)
Slavery is associated with inhumane treatment of an individual or a group of people causing not only a physical harm, but also a lot of mental suffering. Portrayal of the slave trade, its lucrative aspect and negative effects in films is instrumental in attempting to understand the events that took place in the era of trade and the middle passage. Of course, the films are instrumental in allowing people today to see the importance of abolition of slavery through characters that immensely suffered throughout the period. In fact, most people have memory of the slave trade through movies like Amistad and Roots. Films are an indispensable vehicle of demonstrating the events in history, and they allow people to recall the past because humans are visual beings and remember well once they see things. The accuracy of events in the two films may not be to par, but they do a proper job in disseminating necessary information for people interested in that era of history.
Roots first appeared on the television screen in the form of a series from the adaptation of a novel by Alex Haley. It plays an imperative role in the method of endeavoring to explain the impact of enslavement and its representation to most black families. The story begins with the capture of the series’ protagonist, Kunte Kinte in Gambia. The story primarily follows Kunte’s journey from Gambia to the point where the American Civil War ends. The film allows the audience to see that slaves like Kinte went through brutal treatment and harassment from their masters. In the film, Kinte struggles immensely as he tries to come into terms with being away from his beloved country Gambia, in attempts to adjust to a world he did not want to belong. The movie also follows Kunte trying to have a relationship with Belle, a fellow slave, and their daughter Kizzy. Unfortunately, the daughter undergoes rape by a plantation master and bores a colored baby called George. Throughout history, the film depicts momentous events up until the abolishment of the slave trade in the civil war. The journey through the Middle Passage may seem unbearable to a student of history today, based on the mortifying conditions of transportation. Europeans and Americans that captured Africans packed them in tiny boats under inhumane conditions often chained together. As a result, most would die from diseases and those that survived barely had any air to breathe at all. The movie explores the theme of escape as Kinte tries to escape so many times and fails. The characters in the movie struggle with finding their own identity as they undergo different phases of American civilization. As the generations of Kizzy’s and George’s family grapple with the effects of slavery, they maintain their identity as Africans even after the slave owners and plantation farmers have tried to deculturize them so many times.
On the other hand, Amistad follows the activities and events that occurred when 53 enslaved Africans tried to revolt and escape form a ship called Amistad. In attempts to take over the ship, the slaves are unable to navigate their way to freedom, their motherland, and are soon captured by Americans on the shores of a state. They undergo trial for attempted escape and they undergo it with exceptional determination while still maintaining their dignity. Cinque explains his version of the story to a courtroom full of people to avoid persecution by the American government. The movie is instrumental in allowing the audience to observe a legal system that allowed enslavement, and the length some people would follow to ensure its continued existence. Two main themes surfaced from the film, survival of slavery and suffering. When the Africans killed the people on board, they were fighting for their freedom. It was unavoidable that would otherwise have led them to immense suffering. Audiences observe the suffering through the middle passage. The manner in which the slaves are chained together, suffering through sickness and attempted suicide from the conditions are touching, to say the least. There is also kindness in the film as the abolitionists attempt to communicate with the slaves in a way to give them their freedom back home.
The two films carry out an exceptional job in disseminating the struggles of enslaved Africans. The movie appropriately captures the suffering endured by the slaves in the middle passage. The motion and the suffering of Africans in the film are raw, and people can easily understand the suffering and torture depicted through the different characters explored. Of course, some of the events in the film never took place, but it is not wrong as directors and screenwriters of the movie took on creative liberty. The fact that there are certain elements added on to the film or omitted may confuse a historian as a moviemaker may add on certain elements to make the movie relatable, and understandable. In general, the information passed on from the movie is sufficient to learners and audiences all over the world.
