Roots, Gone with the Wind, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

I just finished watching Roots and I was crying at the end. Alex Haley really is the man. He sure has made my life easier. I see a lot of stuff on the internet about how to talk about race and this and that. And this series along with the Autobiography of Malcom X makes it so easy. To answer any question my kids have about race.. .it's so simple... watch Roots.. question answered.

"Why is he black but his skin sort of looks white?"

question answered in Roots.


"What's a slave?"

Question answered in Roots.

"Why'd they shoot Noah when he was running away."


I started to answer that question, "Well back then..." and then realized actually you can still get shot like that today. But maybe looking back can answer a lot of questions about ourselves.

Noah only watched 1 and 2. I just watched 3 and 4 by myself and will re watch them with Noah.

Jonah doesn't want to watch this. Maybe next year.

The thing is, Noah asks questions like, "Is that sand he is holding?... I think it's rocks. Is it rocks or sand. I know it's sand. No it's sand that is rocks."

This is the scene where Kissi is sold. How about, "Why are they selling her?"

But then it made me think more about why Kunta Kente was holding the earth. It's to bring her back to him somehow.

Well, there is a lot to talk about in this series which I will get to in later posts.

1)The strangeness of identifying with the slave holders

2) What the reaction people are having to the series existence

3) The fact that this is the story that needs to be told. Because the version that is so famous worldwide is Gone with the Wind... and the meaning of that.

4) How this story is something that people who do not have their own can hold onto as a story to bind everyone together, and the importance in that.


A lot of this is touched on in the discussions after the show of course.

As the title of my post reads.. I guess I will be talking (with myself) about my white side's reaction and my Chinese side's reaction to Roots. I guess I should also watch the original.

First and foremost though. Just as a PERSON watching the show, this is an amazing show. Everyone should watch it. Hence why I am showing it to my kids even though they are so young. And frankly, yes I know there are some things in there that are adult. But they did it in a way, that you will see, a kid can watch it with Parental guidance.

As they said at the end, the legacy of slavery is still with us today because we never had a chance to mourn it. We haven't dealt with it.

Joyce Degruy has talked about how we never really treated people for trauma from slavery and simultaneously the trauma never stopped.

Now I have heard some unexpected reactions and the last few minutes, where the Master's son says, "we will redeem this country and put you back in your place, it is the natural law."

That is the only time when I really saw a huge relevance with certain movements in this country recently. I mean if you look all over the internet there really is a shift toward Confederate beliefs. However, now it is mostly trying to argue in non racist terms somehow. The truth is complicated and confusing. But I think that Roots pretty much covers all bases. Everything is in there, and in a pretty linear story that is easy to follow.
It is a good starting place for any discussion on race and every new immigrant should watch it too to get caught up. Because I have had many a discussion with newer immigrants who are uncomfortable around black people who have a lot of questions and stuff can get turned around when you hear different parts of the story out of context.

Roots is definitely a good starting point and a good way to talk about our nation's history. It even starts before the Revolutionary War.

That is why I will also compare it to Romance of the Three Kingdoms, because like that Ming Dynasty Novel, it has everything about our culture, the origin of how we interact with each other, as well as rituals, customs and religious beliefs and dances explained. There are also a lot of parallels between the two stories. In many ways Kunta Kente, is the Kwan Gung of this story... and since the book was not even written that long ago (Romance of the Three Kingdoms was written before the events in Roots even took place, and was written about 200 AD) but perhaps the figure of Kunta Kente can further be developed with the Kwan Gung ideals and model in mind. Black people who practice traditional Kung Fu with all the rituals might know what I am trying to get at.  Although Kunta Kente has been mentioned in many rap songs, there is a lot more you can do with him as a Folk Hero. Then again, there are also more recent heroes on the Global Scale that have achieved more than many of our Folk Heroes have achieved. Mandela, for instance, actually ruled the country that oppressed him. Though he is Christian, he definitely achieved more in his lifetime than Jesus did in his.

I guess I should read the book (Roots) for good measure. As although I really liked reading the Autobiography of Malcom X, I'm not sure the movie does the book justice. And as great as this series is (haven't seen the original) maybe the book is even more in depth.