History in prime time: memory and ethnicity in Roots and Holocaust

Authors

  • Edson Pedro da Silva Universidade de São Paulo

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2316-7114.sig.2021.171607

Keywords:

Roots, Holocaust, Historical tv shows, Ethnicity

Abstract

The presence of complex historical topics in fictional TV shows in the seventies’ United States ought to give a desired quality standard on television, also contributing to build certain social memories in narratives of ethnic groups that are part of the country’s social formation. Roots and Holocaust, two exemplary productions of the period, stood out for their pioneering spirit and for promoting a public debate on traumatic historical subjects. This article aims at analyzing production aspects and narrative strategies of these two audiovisual products, showing some limits and possibilities of historical television representation in the complex relationship between history and the discourses of memory in each of the shows.

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Author Biography

  • Edson Pedro da Silva, Universidade de São Paulo

    Bacharel (2010), licenciado (2011), mestre (2014) e doutorando em História pela Universidade de São Paulo. Bacharel em Biblioteconomia pela mesma universidade (2000). Tem experiência na área de História, Jornalismo, Ciência da Informação e Meios e de Processos Audiovisuais.

References

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Referências audiovisuais

GENTLEMAN’S AGREEMENT (A Luz é para Todos). Elia Kazan, Estados Unidos da América, 1947.

GONE with the Wind (… E o Vento Levou). Victor Fleming, Estados Unidos da América, 1940.

HOLOCAUST (Holocausto). Criação: Gerald Green, Estados Unidos da América, 1978.

ROOTS (Raízes). Criação: Alex Haley, Estados Unidos da América, 1977.

SHOAH. Claude Lenzmann, França, 1985.

THE Birth of a Nation (O Nascimento de uma Nação). D. W. Griffith, Estados Unidos da América, 1915.

THE Great Ditactor (O Grande Ditador). Charles Chaplin, Estados Unidos da América, 1940.

THE House of Rothschild (A Casa dos Rothschild). Alfred L. Werker, Estados Unidos da América, 1934.

UNCLE Tom’s cabin, or, Slavery days. Edwin S. Porter, Estados Unidos da América, 1903.

Published

2021-07-18

How to Cite

History in prime time: memory and ethnicity in Roots and Holocaust. (2021). Significação: Journal of Audiovisual Culture, 48(56), 173-191. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2316-7114.sig.2021.171607