What makes the subway a good opportunity to tell stories?
"I remember everything I read about the underground railway in your social studies book simplified it," said Joe Bokaski, co-founder of Underground, which started in WGN America on March 9. "The more we know about it, the more exciting, dangerous, brave and heroic it is."
"This is a period in our history, but somehow it was covered up," said Akiva Gold, executive producer of Underground World. "We don't know. I'm a little older than Joe, and I teach this course better, but it's still the disappearance of our past, so the beautiful idea that we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes is more likely to happen.
Therefore, this series is also directed by musician john stephens. During the three-year production process, starring Youni Molet Bell, aldis hodge, Christopher meloni and Arono Miller, he was shot and killed in the real plantation slave shed of the Burton Museum of Louisiana State University in baton rouge.
"We have read many stories about first-person slaves and done as much research as possible," Bokaski said. "We are as loyal as possible to everything we find. In many cases, truth is even more bizarre than fiction.
For those who want to further study the underground railway, the Smithsonian Institution is preparing an exhibition called "Slavery and Freedom", which will be held at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, by Nancy? Nancy Baucau said:
"We talked about the underground railway in a place called' Give up an impossible road', where we observed the daily resistance." . "We see that African Americans, whether they are free or enslaved, face various restrictions in their lives and activities. Despite the laws, how do they bypass their environment? "
Berkau said that part of it involves the so-called railway. "This network was first established by African-Americans, and later by many white abolitionist allies to help people gain freedom."
Among the cultural relics in the new museum, there are two from Harriet Tubman, the most famous underground railway conductor: a hymn and a shawl given to her by Queen Victoria.
Cao Bo said that Tubman was invited to attend the 50th anniversary celebration of the Queen's accession to the throne 1887, but he didn't go. "But Queen Victoria gave her a medal of honor and then gave her this very delicate and beautiful shawl. She said, "We don't know how often she uses it because it is actually in good condition. "."It's white. Harriet Tubman always wears white clothes in his later years. This is a power color based on West African tradition. We don't know if she is really implying this, because in many European countries, many elderly women traditionally wear black clothes. But Harriet Tubman always wears white clothes. [shawl] is a bit in line with her personal aesthetics.
Harriet Tubman's shawl (NMAAHC, a gift from Charles L. Brockson) Regarding hymns, Berkau said, "This is the book she often uses in church. This is really important to her.
Both items were provided by Charles Blockson, an African-American collector who works in the Temple University Library, hoping to ensure that "students have enough materials to really read and understand the history of African-Americans."
It is the same. Berkau said that there are many cultural relics in this part. She said: "We are fortunate to have collected these materials through our families who have held them for many years."
The latest acquisition is a letter from a person who once participated in the underground railway. "We also have a free document from a woman in Virginia. It belongs to one of her ancestors. He made a tin wallet, a small and primitive tin wallet, to hold his free papers. This shows how precious those documents are. Because if you are found without documents, you may be sold into slavery.
A large number of collectors, such as Brockson, bought cultural relics from 1900 to World War II. Berkau said that another group of African-American history collectors rose in the civil rights era. "Those people are really helpful to us. They began to travel north and south to identify and collect certain items, and we received all the collections, one of which came from oprah winfrey.
She said that most of these collectors "realized that museums are not interested in preserving this history. So the most attractive things we get come from families who have just preserved and preserved these cultural relics.
Unlike the producers of the "Underground" series, Belkau said that the underground railway is one of the most famous aspects of Americans in this era.
"I think it's really putting her together and saying," For people, this means resistance, which means that people get rid of the shackles of oppression. "."Another reason why Americans find spelling is that it has been an inter-racial sport to a great extent since the 1940s. You see that both blacks and whites are fighting for the liberation of the enslaved people. Therefore, it relates to our national history to some extent.
The existence of an "underground" TV series, like the remake of Roots, will naturally arouse people's interest in this era, she said, as if the interest in this new museum is not enough.
In this series, "obviously, some stories are fictional, which is not necessarily the way historians tell stories," Berkow said. "But I think this is a very good aspect, opening a dialogue and letting people explore what history really is."
Of course, this is an actor's "underground" history class, especially when shooting in the actual slave cabin. "It's heavy," said Arono Miller, who plays Slaver. "Scratches, blood, chains, you see. There it is. It's true. You can't deny it I think that for all of us, there are some emotional things that we must accept. Take a moment to say that playing this role is not only an honor, but also we must summon up the courage to say that we will do it, and we will do it in the right way.
"Have you seen a cotton mill nearby?" This is the most unfriendly and intolerant thing I have ever seen. ".I mean, it's worse than cactus. It's prickly, brown and itchy. You must pick it up. There are small seeds inside. Then you see their bags.
I told reporters at the "underground" press conference earlier this year, "All I can think of is that the weather is hot and humid, in such a high temperature for one day 12 hours? "
"This is so exciting," said Youni, who played the shy domestic slave Rosalie in Friday night's Light. Mollet？ Bell said. She was deeply impressed by the clever planning and communication of the fugitives in the predicament. "They can use stars, moss on trees, footprints in mud or marks on trees. She said they could communicate with each other by songs. " These people are men and women deprived of reading and writing privileges, but they are all smart. Moreover, through research, it is eye-opening that these people are exactly the people we come from.
Legend has it that he is also responsible for producing unexpected contemporary music in Underground. "I think the reason for this powerful TV is the degree of adversity these people face and the courage to find solutions." It's so exaggerated, so dramatic, so naked and so touching that the TV program "rground" was broadcast on demand at 9 pm EST on Wednesday. The National Museum of African American History and Culture opened on September 24th.