Sorrow and anger in this moving history of slavery
The legacy of the transatlantic slave trade has occupied the news for months, from the toppling of Edward Colston’s statue in Bristol to the National Trust’s decision to detail the links between slavery and many of its properties. We can debate the rights and wrongs of these approaches; but the heightened tensions around the subject have somehow obscured, rather than highlighted, the history of slavery.
Enslaved (BBC Two) is a sobering US documentary series which sets out, in a clear and incontrovertible manner, the horrors of the slave trade. It is presented by Hollywood actor Samuel L Jackson, but is far from being a shallow celebrity vehicle. His personal investment in the story was set out as he walked along a beach in Africa: “My ancestors came from here. They were taken from Africa in chains, to power the greatest wealth-generating machine the world has ever known.”
More than 12 million Africans were trafficked across the Atlantic. Around two million of them died en route, and part of the series traced some of their stories via Diving With a Purpose, a group of underwater archaeologists who dive the wreckages of slave ships that became mass underwater graves.
Britain’s role at the centre of the slave trade was explored, although not in great depth – this is not a Britishmade series, and there are too many stories to be told. The cruelty and inhumanity were illustrated both through tangible objects – the shackles used to prevent slaves from fleeing – and episodes from history, such as the Dutch captain who, when his ship ran aground off the coast of Suriname, ordered his crew to nail down the hatches and leave 664 men, women and children to drown.
Such details proved upsetting for the divers, who showed the utmost reverence for the graves. Jackson was fuelled by another emotion. “Some people say, ‘Don’t you feel sorrow when you see these things?’ But there is a feeling of anger for me,” he said. At a lagoon in Gabon, where his family originated, he was shown huge banks of discarded oyster shells – the last meal on home soil of those waiting in chains to be shipped to the Americas.
One of the most moving moments occurred at the end of the second episode, with a visit to a village in Suriname. The villagers were descendants of Ghanaian slaves who had fought back against the plantation owners and escaped into the woods to a life of freedom. An uplifting story in an otherwise bleak history.
Twelve strangers meet in an isolated spot with the promise of winning £100,000. The money lies beneath a tower on an island in the middle of a vast reservoir. In order to reach it, they must cross 850ft of water – but are not allowed to swim or sail. Instead, they have to build a bridge, in 20 days, with the minimum of tools. Oh, and if they do make it to the island before the deadline, they must choose only one winner to take the prize money.
This is the simple and clever premise of The Bridge (Channel 4), which is based on a Spanish format. But because it is a reality show, it must adhere to certain rules. The location (Llyn Brenig in North Wales) and basic accommodation brought to mind Castaway, the 2000 show in which a bunch of people went stir-crazy on the Scottish island of Taransay. But Castaway was the first and the purest of reality programmes, before they became a passport to fame. The Bridge also has shades of Big Brother and The Apprentice, and some contestants clearly have an eye on a post-show career in the spotlight.
Zac is a performer with the Dreamboys male strip show. If he was an ice cream he’d lick himself. Tara went viral in March with a video from her hospital bed after she was admitted with Covid-19. Billie is a publicist and daughter of former talk show host Trisha Goddard, who says she wants to be known as more than being Trisha Goddard’s daughter while repeatedly bringing up the fact that her mother is Trisha Goddard. She clashed with Sly, the oldest member of the group, whose understanding of basic engineering principles was roundly ignored.
Sly came across as a difficult character – whether that’s the truth or in the editing, it’s impossible to know. The dynamics of the group are interesting: old and young, privileged and poor. At the end of the episode, a young man called Luke was offered the chance to betray the people he’d known for two days and bank £5,000 – a big sum to someone who had been homeless for periods of his childhood. It feels worth tuning in next week to see what he decides.
Enslaved ★★★★ The Bridge ★★★