Alex Haley's Roots Analysis

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The remake of Alex Haley’s Roots, originally premiered in 1977, was truly a heart touching story about a young African who lived through the history of the slave trade. This TV ministries showcased a young Mandinka Warrior by the name of Kunta Kinte, played by Malachi Kirby, struggling to hold onto his tribal legacy, his identity, and his name as he is kidnapped from his home in Africa and sold to a plantation in America. On the plantation, he meets the Fiddler, acted by Forest Whitaker, who was born into slavery on the plantation. Other cast members include Jonaton Rhys Meyers, Jame Purefoy, Anika Noni Rose, and Laurence Fishburne. The storyline captures the brutalness of the white men treating the enslaved Africans as property. Men from African cities were kidnapped and sold to white men for guns. They travelled through the Middle Passage; getting beaten up, force fed, and chained; to their new owners. Once they have reached the Americas, they are not treated any better. They constantly work from day to night with their feets shackled and would get whipped if they did not work fast …show more content…

When he was just born, Kunta Kinte’s father raised him towards the sky and said, “Your name is your spirit. Your name is your shield” (“Roots” n.p.). An individual’s name makes up who he or she is. It is how others recognize a person so it is very important to them. After Kunta Kinte was sold to the Europeans, he tries to protect his name by refusing to let others address him as “Toby.” He holds on to his real name and even when he is viciously whipped by his owner, he rejects the name his owner’s wife gave him. It keeps him who he is and he would not accept to be anyone other than himself. Kunta Kinte tries to run back to his home many times even though he failed time after time. He preserves the culture that he grew up with by singing and thinking about his family and

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