Analysis Of The Television Show: Roots

The television show “Roots”, a miniseries airing in the late Seventies, provided gripping and emotional insight into the lives of a fictional family victimized by slavery. This controversial project attempted to depict some semblance of the horrific history of the American black community in a way that the primarily white population would willingly consume. Unfortunately, this depicted the African-American involuntary “immigration” experience as one that was terrible yet palatable, tying it up nicely with the bow of a “happy ending”. “Roots” opened a dialogue amongst the American people and carved out a place for African-Americans in mainstream television that wasn’t comedy, but also catered to the comfort of its white audience. This show worked