Television Review | From the claims of a 15th-century hit book, a persistently alive belief about the lack of human dignity of blacks is inherited

Amsterdam

You knowwho was Gomes de Zurara? The historian who lived in the 15th century is perhaps not as well known as he should be in terms of his relevance to modern times.

King of Portugal Alfonso V once commissioned de Zurara to provide moral justifications for the enslavement of blacks.

When Portugal started importing slaves from Africa in the 15th century, the industry was not new. In the past, slaves had been white, especially Slavs. Even the English word slave comes from the Slavs. Africans were considered well-suited to be slaves because they could not easily run away home and assimilate into the white population.

De Zurara lumped all black peoples together as ugly and compared them to animals. The book became a hit all over Europe, and the belief about black people’s lack of human dignity is still persistently alive.

Of that starts from now by Roger Ross Williams directed documentary film Stamped from the Beginning (USA 2023), which had its European premiere last week in Amsterdam at the Idfa festival.

The handsomely made and sharp documentary creates an overview of the ideological history of racism, which insidiously affects how people with dark skin are treated even today.

“Even I had internalized a certain way of seeing black people, myself included, and I didn’t even know it. In that sense, making the documentary was therapeutic,” Williams said in Amsterdam.

The film is based on the professor By Ibram X. Kendin to the book of the same name (2016), which won the prestigious National Book Award as the best non-fiction book. Kendi is also in the movie.

“Not everyone has time to read 600 pages, but maybe they can watch an hour and a half movie,” Kendi stated about the need for a version at the film’s premiere in Amsterdam.

Document focuses largely on the United States. In documentaries, instead of the usual dramatized descriptions, history is illustrated with drawings and animations, which is an elegant solution.

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“History is illustrated with drawings and animations, which is an elegant solution.”

In the documentary, Williams interviews numerous other experts in addition to Kendi. The director received a long list of candidates from the producers. Williams noticed that there were a lot of women in it. He decided that the majority of the voices in the documentary will be black women.

“Women have always been on the front lines of resistance,” says Williams.

Stamped from the Beginning illuminates how racist thinking stems from centuries-old ideas that did not arise innocently on their own. They have been used as instruments of power.

The documentary, which looks at the ideological history of racism, is punctuated by both interviews and animated and cartoon images. Picture: Courtesy of Netflix

Last The documentary presents police violence in the United States as a spiritual continuation of the wave of lynchings after the civil war.

“Every time I step out the door, I can face the black death. Seeing the police scares me every time. I wanted to understand what caused it. That’s why I made this documentary,” says Williams.

“The myth of black hypersexuality and criminality has spread around the world. It is claimed that black people are also poor because there is something wrong with them. But race is not a social construct but a creation of power”, Kendi emphasizes.

Racist thought patterns live tenaciously. Kendi says they are simple. Opposing racism, on the other hand, requires understanding and explaining the complex world.

Stamped from the Beginning, Netflix.