Race and the transformation of culture: The making of the television miniseriesroots

Abstract

When ABC acquired the broadcast rights to Alex Haley's epic slave narrative Roots, the television program became a creation of an institution run mostly by and for whites. Haley's novel was transformed from a critique of slavery, white cruelty, and indifference into a classic immigrant story that diluted the horror, complexities, and seriousness of slavery as a societal institution. By examining an ideology of race within the framework of the production of culture model, this paper suggests that white producers and network executives manufactured content and made creative choices that reflected their membership in the dominant white culture. As a result, the television production process altered Haley's story in ways that suggested cultural explanations or myths concerning the institution of slavery in the United States that were drastically different from the ones offered by Haley.

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