Analysis Of The Documentary ' The Black Atlantic '

In the documentary, The Black Atlantic, the narrator explores the beginnings of slavery and the impact slavery had on the new world up to 1800. The black Atlantic is the first episode of a series of films called The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. in which African American culture is analyzed since slavery up to the election of the first African American president. The purpose of the documentary is to inform viewers of what slavery was like by providing stories of those who lived through slavery. For example, a ten-year-old girl named Priscilla who was taken from Sierra Leone to South Carolina in the mid-18th century. in the documentary, Henry Louis Gates Jr discusses the slave trade after the discovery of America while doing so he incorporates the experiences of certain slaves for example the slaves who arrived at Jamestown, Virginia. Additionally, the narrator talks about the first known African in America, Juan Garrido, who was brought along with Spanish explorers in 1513. The filmmakers reveal the story of another black man, Esteban the moor, who crossed a Texas desert with three other men while taking part in a Spanish expedition. Eventually throughout the documentary the filmmakers discuss and illustrate how slavery transformed from an informal arrangement to a racial system.

Indeed, I found that this documentary had distinctive and remarkable visuals. I specifically liked the recreation of certain scenes. I liked how when the narrator was speaking about the middle passage the background would change to make it look like if Henry Louis Gates Jr. was traveling back in time to that specific moment. Furthermore, I liked how the filmmakers keep the events in chronological order and how the nar...

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...served as a pillar in the economy of one of the earliest forms of globalization.”. On the other hand, the documentary provides facts illustrating approximately how many slaves died during this monstrous journey. The book describes the middle passage as the name given to the journey across the Atlantic in which many slaves died. According to the textbook, “In the North, slaves worked as field hands on farms and as domestic servants, dockworkers, and craftspeople in cities. But because of their labor-intensive cash crops, the market for slaves was much more lucrative in the South and the Chesapeake.” The documentary only discusses slavery up to 1800 however as we know slavery continued beyond that year with the cause of the civil war in 1861 which was a war fought over slavery. Overall, I highly recommend watching the documentary as it is educational and entertaining.