I watched it and have to be honest. It was by far my least favourite episode. I loved the others, especially the episodes with Lisa Kudrow and Emmitt Smith. I enjoyed Susan Sarandon's episode too. But not this one.
There were too many huge leaps and assumptions for my liking as a genealogist. I also didn't find Spike Lee someone I could relate to. He seemed removed from the process but in fairness, perhaps he was just processing the information. His love of family did come across and that was great to see. I did find it eerie that his grandmother suggested he name his character Mars in his first big hit movie, and then it turned out that Lee's great great grandfather was Mars. His grandmother suggested the name after a "crazy uncle" she remembered, but had no idea her own grandfather's name was Mars. I liked Spike Lee's perception that it was Mars himself wanting to be known that caused his grandma to toss out that name.
The website for “Who Do You Think You Are?” can be accessed here http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/. The website features bios of the celebrities featured in the show, photos, and several video clips as well as articles on how to get started in family history.
Ancestry.com
4 comments:
Could not agree with you more about the leaps and bounds this episode took. It leaped, and it jumped, and I did not feel it had continuity. Loved the part of him diggin' in the Georgia red clay tho.
I have enjoyed almost all of the shows, I missed a few that I will have to go back and watch, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Broderick, Sarah Parker, I think were my favorites so far. Having done a fair amount of research on many lines of my family, it is nice to see this show. I wish it was as easy as it seems on the show. I still have one line that I have hit the wall on. No matter how many times I go back I always come to a dead end!! Maybe some day ...
I enjoyed the show. This is an important part of our history. The history of the slaves saddens most of us. It is unfortunate that the slaves owners felt it was their right, and fathered many of the children of the slaves.
I can't also help feeling sorry for the wives of the slave owners. They must have known what was going on and felt helpless. I wonder how the slave owner treated these children. Did they treat them better than the others? Did the white lady of the house treat them worse?
I also wonder is the children of the slave owners ever recognized each other as 1/2 brothers and sisters.
I suspect there is no clear answer as each sistuation is differnt.
I thought there were too many leaps too. When he was talking to the Griswold descendant, he seemed to be certain that they were cousins. Perhaps there were parts that were edited out. We have to remember that this show isn't for genealogists. It is for the general public, who may not be concerned with all the detailed research. It's possible more detailed research that proved or nearly proved Mr. Griswold was Matilda's father was edited out.
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