JSTUS
THE WARHORSES!!!
"Roots" Facts
"Roots" premiered January 23, 1977.
According to Raul Tovares' piece in the Museum of Broadcasting, Fred Silverman, ABC's chief programming czar at that time did not have faith that "Roots" would perform in sweeps month; therefore, Silverman stripped the program into the one week before February sweeps officially began.
Even Haley was surprised by the response to "Roots."
"Roots" was the first time the term "appointment television" was used, as it was before the advent of VCRs. People would literally time their days around the 6-part miniseries.
"Roots" garnered an average share of 66 and an average rating of 44.9.
Shops reported a sharp decline when "Roots" was on the air, which they finally came to regard was the 103 million people (on average on any given night) the program amassed.
Haley traced his roots back to the village of Juffure, in Gambia.
Though Haley eventually came to be criticized for trying to sanitize his ancestors' experience to make it more palatable for white audiences, Haley always described the book as "faction" -- a blending of fact and fiction. To the end of Haley's days, he saw "Roots" as an opportunity to help a generation find its ancestry with pride -- not prejudice.
The tremendous success of "Roots" can only be fully appreciated within social context:
"Roots" saw an America moving away from the 'turbulent 60s' into a country threatened by outside forces, like the Middle Eastern oil cartel, instability in Central America (especially Nicaragua), and so the nation began to close ranks.
However, the program served as a symbolic ritual that brought African Americans into the national community.
The program served to tell network executives and marketing and ad execs that black Americans had their own wealth and tremendous influence in society.
"Roots" represented the first time that a national programming event was cast mainly by actors of African descent.
Mass audience advertising became more integrated than at any other time in history.
_____________
What do you think about the movie?
If you have never seen it in it's entirety or would like to tape it, the "ROOTS" marathon will be shown Saturday, Jan. 26, 2002 starting at Noon, eastern time, on the HALLMARK channel.
"Roots" premiered January 23, 1977.
According to Raul Tovares' piece in the Museum of Broadcasting, Fred Silverman, ABC's chief programming czar at that time did not have faith that "Roots" would perform in sweeps month; therefore, Silverman stripped the program into the one week before February sweeps officially began.
Even Haley was surprised by the response to "Roots."
"Roots" was the first time the term "appointment television" was used, as it was before the advent of VCRs. People would literally time their days around the 6-part miniseries.
"Roots" garnered an average share of 66 and an average rating of 44.9.
Shops reported a sharp decline when "Roots" was on the air, which they finally came to regard was the 103 million people (on average on any given night) the program amassed.
Haley traced his roots back to the village of Juffure, in Gambia.
Though Haley eventually came to be criticized for trying to sanitize his ancestors' experience to make it more palatable for white audiences, Haley always described the book as "faction" -- a blending of fact and fiction. To the end of Haley's days, he saw "Roots" as an opportunity to help a generation find its ancestry with pride -- not prejudice.
The tremendous success of "Roots" can only be fully appreciated within social context:
"Roots" saw an America moving away from the 'turbulent 60s' into a country threatened by outside forces, like the Middle Eastern oil cartel, instability in Central America (especially Nicaragua), and so the nation began to close ranks.
However, the program served as a symbolic ritual that brought African Americans into the national community.
The program served to tell network executives and marketing and ad execs that black Americans had their own wealth and tremendous influence in society.
"Roots" represented the first time that a national programming event was cast mainly by actors of African descent.
Mass audience advertising became more integrated than at any other time in history.
_____________
What do you think about the movie?
If you have never seen it in it's entirety or would like to tape it, the "ROOTS" marathon will be shown Saturday, Jan. 26, 2002 starting at Noon, eastern time, on the HALLMARK channel.
