The Underground Railroad; Amazon Prime Based on: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

The Underground Railroad; Amazon Prime
Based on: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

I won’t lie to you: this is not an easy show to watch. It was never going to be lighthearted, being a series about slavery, based on a novel about slavery, but as I have written before, Barry Jenkins takes Whitehead’s text—which is naturally engaging, despite everything—and unpeels it, making it raw and alien and impressionistic, full of empty spaces and silent exchanges. Much is left unsaid; this is intentionally destabilizing. We are plunged into a surreal vision of our history, and it is a vision of our history that looks back at us, both explicitly and implicitly, and demands our recognition. Like I say, it’s not comfortable. But this is high art, and it really shouldn’t be comfortable. It should be as awful and brilliant and unforgettable as this.  –Emily Temple, Managing Editor