MovieChat Forums > Roots (2016) Discussion > Romanticising the Mandinka tribe

Romanticising the Mandinka tribe

posted 8 years ago by lumosnight
8 replies | jump to latest

I really enjoy this series and I find it to be a very disturbing and heartfelt story, but I just cannot get past the concept of making the Mandinka tribe look admirable. They practice male and female genital mutilation and treat women like cattle - if Kunta truly wanted to raise his daughter as a Mandinka member and Kizzy was so proud of it, her genitals would have been chopped off and she would accept being someone's 3rd or 4th wife or even a concubine to her master. She wouldn't be a fighter, but a servant with mutilated genitals.

[–] geriatriccatlady 8 years ago

I wanted you to be a troll... I googled it. That's depressing. Amazing how quickly we can celebrate people we know little about.

Just my two cents.

[–] lumosnight 8 years ago

I'm sorry for ruining your perfectly ideal fantasy about the "oppressed" Mandinka tribe with a good dose of reality. Anyone who insults an African tribe must be a troll, right?

[–] geriatriccatlady 8 years ago

Lumosnight,

You are hilarious. 😄. You cannot insult anyone by stating verifiable facts, most certainly not me. I'm way too old to have idealized views of the world in general 😂. I know of other African tribes who practice genital mutilation. Just did not know the Mandinka was one of them.
When I said I wanted you to be a troll... It was more my appreciation of Alex Haley's story that wanted it to be false. I think that is one of the worst things EVER to inflict on children.
I appreciate knowing more than I did before. Were it not for your post, I'd have never looked it up. I'm appreciative, not upset. It's all good.

Just my two cents.

[–] nonami18 8 years ago

Just like Well meaning but foolish people who genuinely believe Native Americans were just nature loving Proto hippies who lived in perfect harmony with each other.

[–] geriatriccatlady 8 years ago

We can really get caught up in our collective mythologies don't we!?

Just my two cents.

[–] chathan-vemuri 8 years ago

What exactly is your point? Most ancient peoples had practices or customs that would look sickening to those reared with a sense (or pretense) of Enlightenment principles, whether it be caste system, foot binding, female oppression, etc. I don't think the miniseries was "romanticizing" the Mandinka anymore than other shows do when they depict cultures of the past. I mean heck, if we are to go by your logic, then movies/shows about college life that depict frats without showing date rape are thereby romanticizing that culture, like Richard Linklater's Everybody Wants Some. The show was about a particular character from that culture kidnapped into slavery. Not mentioning some aspect of their culture isn't a sign of "romanticization" or whatever. For the record, they didn't show it as picture perfect, given the slave trade and warfare between rival clans. Your criticism is not valid at all.

[–] mythbustfan 8 years ago

But did they do this during the mid 18th century?

That's the million dollar question.

I don't know if they did or not but if they didn't, then that's a horse of a different color

name the movie or tv quote
SQUEAL! Squeal like a little piggy poo (Note: not Deliverance)

[–] Educator07 7 years ago

It's no worse than the romanticizing we do of American culture and our celebration of July 4th. I've yet to hear a speech before the fireworks go off that only some Americans won their freedom. The darker-skinned ones were still in chattel slavery. We also love to paint the Germans as these horrific monsters who obliterated the Jews. Yet, we've treated the Africans just as bad.

Where are the Asian characters DC CW? #MoreAsians