The Underground Railroad

The first series directed by Barry Jenkins, The Underground Railroad tells the story of a young enslaved woman’s journey toward freedom. The series, available on Amazon Prime, sheds light on one of the darkest chapters in American history.

“Do we need to remember the horrors of American slavery? Is it ethically or morally right to do so? And if so, why?”

Haunted for a long time by the idea of creating a fictional story about slavery, Barry Jenkins went through a long personal journey before finally beginning the project. The Oscar-winning director, known for Moonlight, a poetic film about a gay Black boy growing up in a poor neighborhood of Miami, was 41 when he created The Underground Railroad, his first television series.

“Over the years, the idea of images like those we see in the series has evoked feelings of shame (…) because the trauma caused by depictions of institutionalized slavery in America is (…) enormous,” he wrote in a statement accompanying the presentation of the series, which was released on Amazon Prime.

An Underground Railroad

Adapted from Colson Whitehead’s novel of the same name, published in 2016, the series tells the story of Cora Randall, played by South African actress Thuso Mbedu, and her journey toward freedom.

Cora is enslaved on a cotton plantation in Georgia. Through Caesar, another enslaved man, she discovers the existence of a mysterious “underground railroad.”

Although it is based on a real historical network that was kept secret, the Underground Railroad was not an actual railroad system. It was a network of secret routes, safe houses, and people who helped enslaved people escape toward freedom.

Hunted by an enslave catcher determined to return her to her owner at any cost, the young woman changes her identity and travels from one state to another.

As she gradually discovers freedom and a sense of who she is, she must confront her past before finally turning toward the life she dreams of.